Merry Christmas!

The last few days have been a fun, but somewhat hectic whirlwind of Christmas activities and travel to Seattle to celebrate Christmas with our families. We're ready to settle down, relax, and enjoy time with some of our favorite people. I'll leave you with a few highlights from our Christmas season. We wish you a peace-filled, festive, and safe holiday weekend.

Christmas 2010

• We try to do an annual Christmas date. This year, we visited the tree of lights in Zilker Park, ate dinner at Austin's legendary Mexican joint, El Arroyo, and then visited the flagship Whole Foods to pick out dessert (freshly made dark chocolate caramels with sea salt) and watch the ice skaters at the rink on the roof of Whole Foods.

• A few days later, we drove out to Fredericksburg and the wine country to do a little tasting and pick up our wine club shipment at our favorite winery, Pedernales Cellars. On our way home, we passed by the Pedernales Electric Company in Johnson City, and saw the coolest Christmas lights we've probably ever seen. It seems a little ironic that this is sponsored by an electric company (or maybe not ironic at all?), but it was breathtaking.
  

• And I know I've already shown our Christmas tree several times, but I just love how cute it is. We'll always remember our first married Christmas tree.
  

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Holiday Fondue Dinner

When I was very young, my dad's job took us over to Geneva, Switzerland for two years. I remember a few things from that time period-- some of our travels and random things a toddler would think were cool (like the playground behind our apartment and the trikes at my pre-school), but my parents soaked up quite a bit of the Swiss culture and fell in love with a few traditions that they brought back to the U.S. with us. One of those traditions is Swiss cheese fondue, which we feast on every year for Christmas Eve dinner. This year, I'm celebrating Christmas with J's family, but didn't want to miss out on one of my favorite holiday meals. So we decided, why not share the cheese-y, carb-y love? The result was a delicious pre-Christmas fondue dinner with 3 of our favorite couples from business school.

Fondue, although incredibly rich, is super easy to make. Paired with a big, green salad, copious wine, and some homemade Christmas cookies for dessert, it was an easy dinner party to pull together.

Traditional Swiss Fondue
(Serves 6-8)

2/3 bottle dry white wine

2-3 garlic cloves, sliced

2.5 lbs. good Gruyere cheese, grated

3-4 Tbsp. flour

3 baguettes, sliced

2-3 Tbsp. Kirsch (optional)

Toss the grated cheese with the flour. Pour the wine into a large pot and add the sliced garlic. Simmer the wine with the garlic for 5-10 minutes, but do not let the wine boil. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon. Add the cheese and flour mixture by handfuls, stirring until each handful is melted before adding another handful. When all the cheese has been melted, you can add 2-3 Tbsp. (approximately 1 shot) of Kirsch if you like. (Kirsch is a cherry brandy from Switzerland or France... it just gives it a little extra kick.)

Serve the fondue on top of a heated fondue stand to keep the cheese warm and gooey, and start dipping those sliced baguettes!

J waiting patiently for the guests to arrive

Getting festive...

And getting ready to chow down... Bon Appetit!

Christmas Ornament Exchange

This year I participated in the Christmas Ornament Exchange, hosted by Karen from Karen At Home and Shannon from Webbisodes. They paired us each up with a partner and we picked out and shipped a special holiday ornament to our partner. My partner was the lovely B, from I.M.T.L.Y., and she sent me this gorgeous gold ball:

Up close

On the tree

I think I kind of like it with my sparkly mantle decorations!

The ornament exchange was a fun way to get introduced to some new blogs and bloggers, and I will definitely be participating next year. Thanks for hosting, ladies!

Holiday Gruene-ery

That (bad) pun won't make much sense to anyone outside of central Texas... for the rest of you, Gruene (pronounced Green-- haha, get it??) is a tiny, scenic town about an hour south of Austin whose motto reads, "gently resisting change since 1872." True to this statement, the town looks like it's straight out of an old west movie set, with a general store, a few saloons and restaurants, numerous antique shops, and Gruene Hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas. And around the holidays, Gruene oozes charm.

This past weekend, we were invited down for the night to celebrate my friend Cassie's birthday with three other b-school couples. We bunked up in cabins at the Gruene Mansion Inn, strolled the festively lit streets checking out boutique after candy shop after boutique, enjoyed a delicious birthday meal at the Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar, and capped off the evening with lots of pool and live country music at Gruene Hall. I love exploring the little historic towns that make each region unique, and this was no exception. We had a great time.

The birthday girl, and her husband, Dan

The girls goofing around outside the dance hall

Cory Morrow on stage at Gruene Hall

Serious fans

Dan and Alle shootin' pool

J and I enjoying the show

Duck-erating our Tree

First, I want to give a shout out to Penny Lane Designs for my lovely new blog design. I was so ready for a change, and I love my new look!

I'm a week late in posting this, but I have some pictures of our first married Christmas tree that I wanted to share. Last Saturday, J and I got up and did what any Austonian would do on an 80 degree day in December-- put on our sunglasses and flip flops and headed out to get our tree. (I should have taken a picture of our outfits just to remember it!) We went to a lot, but were impressed with the number, size, and quality of the trees. I'm gonna go ahead and say it... having been raised in Washington and Oregon respectively, J and I have pretty high standards for what constitutes a Christmas tree. In fact, the act of going to a lot-- instead of going out to a farm in the woods and cutting down our own tree-- seemed highly suspect. But since the closest cut-down-your-own-tree farm was halfway to Houston, and since we had a very important game to watch that afternoon, the lot worked out just fine.

We selected a delicious smelling fir tree from North Carolina. Since we live in an apartment, and are going to be spending about 10 days in Seattle over the holidays, we opted for a smaller, more manageable 5 foot tree that would be easy to put up, easy to take down... and easy to stuff in my Jetta. That's another picture I wish would have taken!

After stopping at Target for some lights and garlands, and then at a local taqueria to fortify ourselves with a few tacos al pastor and some Mexican Coke (have you had that stuff?? addictive!), we headed home to... "Duck-erate" our tree. That is-- to decorate our tree while watching the Oregon Ducks trounce the Oregon State Beavers to lock up their number 2 BCS ranking and earn their (first ever!) trip to the National Championships. Obviously I've been a little, um, "preoccupied" throughout the fall-- otherwise I would have written more about their amazing season. But we're all very excited and will definitely be tuning in on January 10th to watch them play Auburn for the championship.

So here are a few pictures of our first married Christmas tree. The past two years we've been travelling so we opted not to do full out Christmas decorations in the past, but I'm glad we did this year. It's so festive and smells awesome!

The full tree!

J's favorite ornament-- a Hawaiian shirt

Our tree topper-- a repurposed angel ornament. And, yes, that is a UT Bevo figurine in the background. Apparently J thought my mantle needed a little something extra.

And, finally, our stockings and mantle!

Catching up

I can't believe it's already December 3rd! This year is flying by. (I think I say that at the beginning of every new month.) I think it's just especially bizarre to me that it's almost Christmas because it's so nice here! 76 and sunny today. Strange.

We had a great Thanksgiving in Portland. I didn't take any pictures, but we enjoyed plenty of time with my parents, my sister and her husband, and my brother and his fiance. We are all only able to get together a few times a year, so it's special when we do. While we were there they had some unseasonably cold weather-- like lows in the 20s. Before we left (and it was 80+ here), I was pining away for some nice cold weather. I was romanticizing thick wool sweaters, toasty beverages, and roaring fires. Then, as soon as we stepped out of the airport, I remembered what 28 degrees feels like. Not good. It's amazing how fast my blood has thinned. After only a year and a half in Texas, anything below 60 suddenly seems frigid. Still, it's hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it's this nice. I wouldn't mind it if was cold just through the end of the year, and then we could pick right back up where we left off in the 70s.

I also had my two-week check up for my surgery earlier this week. Everything is looking good, and I can say I am finally feel normal again after two months of pregnancy-related ups, downs, and complications, both physical and emotional. I will need to have my blood tested weekly to monitor me as the hcg in my system declines, until I have 3 consecutive weeks where no hcg is measured. Then I will need monthly tests, totaling up to 6-12 months. My first blood test was on Monday and we got great results. I definitely have a long road to go, but we're off to a good start and I'm just trying to be optimistic. I struggle with taking it one day at a time, and not letting my mind race ahead to all the what-ifs, but I'm really working on trying to enjoy each day as it comes-- even though I feel like my life is in a holding pattern. Patience has never been one of my strengths, so this situation is forcing me to work on cultivating that quality, as well as the ability to stay present in the here and now.

But, fortunately for me, it's the holiday season and there are lots of fun things going on to distract me! Parties, dinners, shopping, and decorating galore. I should be back soon with some fun updates (as well as photos!)

Happy Friday!

Thankful

I've always loved Thanksgiving. It easily rivals Christmas as my favorite holiday. They are both special in their own way, but there is something to be said for lots of amazing food; ample time spent with family, where the most taxing activity is deciding whether to watch football or a movie; no stress around buying, wrapping, or shipping gifts; and no jam packed schedules. And this year, more than ever, I am reminded of what the season is really about: gratitude for all of our blessings, big and small. With that in mind, I thought I'd share a few of mine:

• A funny, supportive, exuberant, and loving husband
• The health and safety of my family - who are also loving, supportive, and generally awesome
• My own health and safety - I may have been beat up a little bit over the past few weeks, but I'm doing just fine and am hopeful for a complete recovery
• Medical insurance and good doctors, which allow me to get better in the first place
• A roof over my head and heat when it's cold out (or AC when it's hot, as the case may be here in Austin where the high was 83 today)
• Access to plentiful, wholesome food and clean water
• Caring friends, from both near and far, who come out of the woodwork and show their support when you need it most
• The ability to step back and realize that although my life isn't perfect, I have more than enough in so many areas of my life and that I am truly one of the lucky ones
• And of course: trashy television, DVRs (with which to enjoy said trashy television), red wine, dark chocolate, extra stinky cheese, and totally engrossing novels

And with that, we're off to Portland to celebrate with my family. Happy Thanksgiving!

On the mend

Thank you for all of your emails, thoughts, and good wishes! The surgery went really well on Monday. I did end up losing quite a bit of blood, but nothing that a few days of bed rest and a lot of fluids can't cure. We're waiting on test results that we should get sometime next week, but the doctor said the tissue he removed didn't look quite like he expected. This means that it might have been a partial, instead of complete, molar pregnancy, and the implications for long term follow up would be a little less serious. We're keeping our fingers crossed for good news, but regardless of the results I am trying to stay focused on everything we have to be thankful for this season-- which is quite a lot.

Update and prayers needed

Well, unfortunately, it turns out that my miscarriage wasn't just a miscarriage. On Friday I was diagnosed with a molar pregnancy. It's extremely rare, and it's pretty complicated, but it essentially means that the pregnancy tissue has been growing rapidly, like a tumor, in my uterus. It is most likely benign, but we won't know for sure until we get some test results back in 2-3 weeks. Tomorrow morning, I need to have a surgical procedure to remove all of the tissue, and then I will need to be monitored weekly for the next 6 months or so to make sure my hcg levels go down to zero and stay that way. We may be able to have children at some point in the future, but we won't know for sure until we get the test results back, and even then, it will be a ways off. To say that I'm shocked is an understatement. I was shocked when I thought I was having a miscarriage, and the odds of that happening are about 20%. The odds of this happening instead are 0.1%. I keep joking that apparently I should go to Vegas more often.

My procedure tomorrow is a little bit risky because there is some danger of hemorrhaging and losing quite a bit of blood. I am just trying to stay positive and focus on getting through tomorrow with flying colors, and not think about the long road ahead of us after that. I would appreciate your thoughts, prayers, or any positive energy you can throw my way as we embark on this journey. Hopefully, I will have good news to share in the next few days.

Friday Night Fever!

This happened a few months ago, but for those of you following our Friday Night Lights obsession, this was too good not to share. Earlier this year, J signed up to be an extra on Friday Night Lights. With his baby face youthful good looks, he was actually contacted several times to appear in the show. (Side note: he was also selected to be an extra in ABC's ill-fated My Generation, and wound up being featured pretty heavily in a party scene in what would have been in episode 7, but it got cancelled after only two episodes were aired. Bummer.) Anyway, he was contacted several times to appear in Friday Night Lights, but was never able to make it due to his school schedule.

At the beginning of the summer, he received a notice that they were casting extras for the final episode of the show to be filmed in Austin (the end of season 5, which will air on NBC next spring/summer.) Again, he was unable to do it because it required a 3 day commitment. It was going to be a big football scene-- the East Dillon Lions' last home game. Although he couldn't participate, we thought we'd just drive out to see if we could catch any of it being filmed. Since it was the last game, we thought it must be some kind of championship, and therefore that it must be being filmed at UT's Memorial Stadium (where they played their championship game in season 3.) So we drove out to the stadium on the first night we knew they were filming. No dice. No lights, no trucks, nothing.

The next night, on a whim, we decided to drive out to the old Del Valle High School field near the airport, which we knew was the setting for Panthers' home field. We had no idea where the Lions' field was, but thought we'd give it a shot. Bingo! Before we could even see the field, we saw the lights. As we approached, we saw tons of vans and trailers everywhere. We parked at a nearby Days Inn and strategized ways to sneak into (or at least walk by) the action. Unfortunately, the shrubs between the Days Inn parking lot and the stadium were too high to see over, and I was not willing to wade through knee-high grass, in the dark, on a hot Texas night, in sandals, to get to the other side of the stadium for a peek. (Just thinking about what might have been in that grass makes me shiver.) J was adamant that we couldn't just drive down the street where they were filming because someone would surely catch us and he didn't want to get busted for trespassing. I, on the other hand, was a feeling a little more reckless. So I took the wheel and we just drove right up to the stadium.

Instead of security patrolling the block, as J had expected, we found a row of trailer homes situated directly across from the field, and the 'hood was out in full force watching the show being filmed. People were parked in camping chairs, in little kiddie plastic pools, or on the roofs of their trailer drinking beer, taking pictures, and generally just enjoying the show. Clearly security was not a concern. So we parked our car and just walked right up to the edge of the stadium.

I couldn't see a lot of action on the field with out blatantly sneaking into the shot, but I saw stadium full of fans in red and white (Lions' colors), and then the best part... I saw someone leave the stadium and start walking towards me. As she got closer, I saw that it was Connie Britton in all of her Tami Taylor glory. I'm talking short black dress, cowboy boots, and those flowing locks. She seriously has the best hair. She walked right next to me as I walked back to the car. Like, literally, 2-3 feet away from me. Then we started our car and drove slowly down the street (due to the aforementioned neighbors' antics) and she was literally walking right next to our car for about a block as she walked to her trailer. She was texting or checking something on her phone, so we didn't interact at all, but still... pretty cool. We also ran into her this past spring across the street from our apartment at the Hotel San Jose's pool bar, and, ladies, let me tell you... I will be thrilled to look half as good as her when I'm in my mid-40s. She looks pretty fit and attractive on TV, but she looks amazing in real life.

So we missed out on being extras in Friday Night Lights, but we still got in on a little piece of the action of the final episode ever. When you're watching season 5 next summer, keep an eye out for Tami at a Lion's game in a black dress, and think of us.

Gypsy Picnic

This weekend was pretty chill, and exactly what I needed. I slept (a lot), got back into my workout groove, cleaned the house, and ran some much needed errands. But we did manage to sneak a little fun into the weekend, too. Knowing that we may not live here forever (caution: big, scary life decisions ahead as we approach J's last semester of business school), I've been trying to make more of a conscious effort to get out and enjoy Austin and its distinctive quirkiness.

Airstream trailer dining is a big thing in Austin. Some of them roam freely around the city and some are parked in specific, permanent locations. They serve everything from tacos to Korean barbecue to Indian food to BBQ and good ol' Southern comfort food. Some try to provide an upscale trailer experience, like my favorite Indian place, G'Raj Mahal. G'Raj (pronounced Garage) has a nice tented patio with wrought iron chairs and tables and nice lighting. They wait on you at your table and, other than the fact that you're eating outside in a vacant lot near some dilapidated buildings, it feels like a decent restaurant. They don't have a liquor license, but who can complain about BYOB? Most people bring beer or a bottle of wine to enjoy with their food. (If you go, get the Saag. Mmmmmm.) Other trailers are unabashedly low rent (numerous taco trucks come to mind), but their food is equally delicious.

This past Saturday 30 different trailers gathered together at Auditorium Shores as part of the Gypsy Picnic. Admission was free and the idea was essentially to roam around and purchase small tastes (about $3-$5 each) from multiple different vendors. This being Austin, there was also a stage with numerous different live music acts throughout the afternoon and two beer gardens. Lines were long for most of the trailers, but we were impressed that the "tastes" were actually pretty substantial for $3. We tried tacos and homemade hot sauce from Royito's Hot Sauce Streamer and shrimp po'boy sandwiches from Turf N Surf Po'Boy.

After that we just kind of wandered around, chatted up some friends we ran into, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Of course all of this strenuous activity necessitated nap when we got home, but it was well worth the effort. ; )

Latest Flicks

Thank you for your sweet comments on my last post. I really appreciate it. Recently, I've read a few stories of other women's experiences with miscarriages on various blogs, and it helped me feel a little bit better that I'm not the only one out there going through this. I don't exactly have a huge following on this blog, but figured if it helped me to hear someone else's story, it may help someone else to hear mine.

On a lighter note, I am so excited that we are getting into prime movie season... Oscar contender time. Late fall is when so many of the best movies of the year come out. Recently, I've seen the following films:

I really enjoyed both Social Network and The Town. Social Network was fascinating-- it's amazing to think that something so ubiquitous as Facebook started up in some random kid's dorm room (albeit a brilliant, though socially awkward, kid.) Facebook didn't really catch on until after I was in college, but I remember my sister spending a bunch of time on it when she was in college and I so did not get it. I couldn't understand why anyone would want to sit around post stuff on their profile and stalk ex-junior high friends' pictures. It seemed like a JV version of MySpace (which I also didn't really get into very much.) Of course, now I check Facebook on my iPhone regularly. It's just a part of life now.

As for The Town... nail biting plot, strong acting, and Jon Hamm + Ben Affleck in the same movie? Sold. The only thing I didn't love was that Jon Hamm was essentially Don Draper dressed as an FBI agent. He's hilarious when he does cameos on 30 Rock, and he was amazing when he participated in the opening number for the Emmy's, so obviously he's got some range. It would be great to see him in some different types of roles.

That brings us to Never Let Me Go. This was one of those films (and I use the word "film" intentionally) that is beautifully written and art directed. The cinematography is stunning. The acting will probably garner at a least a few Academy nods. But, geez. Could it be any more of a downer?? Quick plot summary: a bunch of kids are created through cloning and then raised from birth to ultimately become organ donors in a society that has essentially eradicated disease (because they can replace your lungs, kidneys, liver, heart, or [fill in the blank] courtesy of the donors.) So, um, these kids grow up knowing they will die. And then they do. Yeah, there's some other stuff that happens (I won't ruin the entire thing for you), but all in all, it was probably not the film I should have seen earlier this week while feeling a little down due to other circumstances. Maybe put it on your Netflix queue when you need a good cry.

We saw the preview for Black Swan with Natalie Portman, which I am intrigued by, but not 100% sold that I should see it in the theater. I love Natalie Portman, but this movie looks like a classy mash up of Center Stage and Single White Female. I'm not sure that's totally up my alley.

What good movies have you seen lately? Are there any upcoming films you are really looking forward to seeing?

A loss

This past weekend Jason and I suffered the loss of our first pregnancy. I debated about whether or not to share this news here, but after thinking about it, I realized that I want this blog to be a real and accurate reflection of our lives-- not just a summary of the fun trips we take, entertaining movies we see, or delicious new recipes I try. And since the miscarriage is what's on my mind right now, I decided it's what I should write about.

The pregnancy was a huge surprise to us in the first place. While we both want children at some point (and probably sooner rather than later), we weren't officially "trying," and weren't planning to until we had a better idea of our future after business school. But in early October, I started feeling a little off-- tired, run down, and just not myself. A pregnancy seemed far fetched, but as the days passed I began to wonder if it might be a real possibility. On October 13th I took a test, and the positive sign popped up immediately-- even before the control line appeared. Even though I had suspected (and shared my suspicions with J), it was still shocking to see it confirmed so quickly. The first 24 hours was a mix of Oh-My-Gosh-How-Did-This-Happen-Am-I-Ready-For-This anxiety and Oh-My-Gosh-This-Is-Amazing-I-Am-So-Excited elation.

Quickly, we adapted to the idea of welcoming our new addition in late June and began sharing the thrilling news with our immediate family members and a few close friends. As the days wore on, we became more and more excited... reading our pregnancy books, talking about the baby as it grew from the size of a poppy seed to the size of an orange seed, and imagining our lives as a family of three. The pregnancy was smooth sailing for me-- aside from some serious fatigue and the occasional headache, I felt great.

But then last Friday, at exactly 6 weeks, I noticed some very light spotting. I honestly wasn't too concerned about it because I had read that it can happen during the first trimester and not signal any major problems. But, just to be safe, I called the doctor. They suggested I come in for an ultrasound just to confirm everything was OK. As I waited for my appointment, I began to get a little nervous, but tried to reassure myself that everything would be fine. Unfortunately, the ultrasound tech was particularly quiet during the procedure, and I could tell it wasn't good news. A little while later, the doctor took me into an exam room and informed me that what they saw on the ultrasound was not consistent with a baby that should be developed to 6 weeks of gestation, and, most likely, I was experiencing the beginning of a miscarriage. Sure enough, the miscarriage began in earnest later that night.

Jason and I were both shocked and devastated by the news, and Friday was a tough day. Since then, the immediate shock has worn off and I have daily ups and downs-- sometimes feeling OK and accepting it, and other times just feeling a dull sadness or depression about it. I know grief is a process, and it will probably continue like this for a while. After lots of reading, I've learned that almost 9 out of 10 women go on to have a healthy pregnancy after a miscarriage, so I am cautiously optimistic that we'll have better luck next time. I do feel some anxiety about trying a again because I know that as difficult as one miscarriage was, a second one would be exponentially more painful. But, for now, I am trying not to worry about this and to just stay positive and take it one day at a time. When the time is right, we will try again, and I know that in the long run, no matter what happens, everything will be fine.

Another reason I love fall...

Or the dead of winter, as the case may be... Either way, I have a serious obsession with coats and jackets, and I can't wait to wear this beauty. Which I bought myself for my birthday. In AUGUST. And now it's just sitting in my closet collecting dust until we get a day that's cooler than 70-something degrees. What can I say? I couldn't pass up this adorable jacket or the 15% off birthday coupon at Anthropologie. And I know that one of these days, I will relish clipping the tags off this beaut and taking her for a test drive!

Fall

In Texas, people love fall. Actually, I think people love fall all over the Southeast, Midwest, and Northeast, too-- although for different reasons. In the Northwest, fall is nice. You enjoy some foliage, cheer on some football (go Ducks!), and maybe even do a little apple picking or cider sampling. You know... it's pleasant. But it's not the season that everyone looks forward to (almost desperately) for nine months out of the year. (That would be summer, when we finally get our body's quota of Vitamin D.) However, here in Texas, fall is definitely everyone's favorite season. Six months ago, when the blue bonnets were out in full force, I would have put money squarely on spring as the best season in Texas, but I'm coming around on fall... it's definitely bringing the competition.

I've already waxed poetic on the beautiful weather and lack of humidity (after summer, the cooler temps and lack of humidity are reason alone to love fall.) There's football, but I think we can all agree that Texas doesn't have a whole lot to get excited about in that department this year. I think what was really holding me back in terms of unabashedly loving fall was that it took me a while to get over the fact that fall doesn't have to mean sweaters, boots, and hot beverages. It doesn't have to mean thick stews and chilly nights. I may not even need to wear a jacket outside until December because the high today was 87 (true story.) But, I do have endless reasons to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors: jogging after work because it's now in the 80s and it actually feels good. Hiking in the Greenbelt. Grilling up a storm. (And, yes, I occasionally still wear boots and sweaters or sip a pumpkin spice latte in the comfort of my AC because I feel like it.)

So, in honor of my new found love of fall (and Hobby Lobby), I spruced up my mantle a little with some some seasonal flair. I'm way late in sharing my fall decor with the blog world, but better late than never. I give you my autumnal mantlescape... Enjoy!

Weekend update x 2

As promised, we did hit up the Texas State Fair last weekend. And it did not disappoint. The sheer volume and variety of fried food was staggering. Apparently there is some sort of contest to judge all the fried food in a number of different categories. The winning "most tasty" food was the fried frito pie, and it actually looked really good. It took us about an hour to find the stall that was selling the fried frito pies, but the line was insane. We stood there for about ten minutes, but it didn't move at all. So I wound up with a fresh squeezed lemonade and an ice cream bar instead. This was very possibly the first time in my life where the ice cream bar was a healthier choice! J and his parents did manage to sample the fried beer, however. (Fried beer won as the most creative fried food.) It was essentially a little dough pouch with beer in the middle. The whole thing was fried, and the beer was still liquid in the middle. I didn't try it, but they said it was kind of weird and not that tasty. And the beer was hot. Hmmm... still, they get points for trying it.

Aside from tracking down obscure fried foods, we saw a bunch of livestock, wandered through the Midway, saw a blue ribbon winning butter sculpture, and visited the car show. All in all, a good introduction to the state fair.

Butter sculpture of UT vs. OU

J and his parents

Us in front of Big Tex... "Howdy Folks!"

This past weekend was pretty mellow. It was one of our first weekends in what feels like months where we had very few plans. Or at least I did. J had his good friend, Aaron, from growing up come into town. They went to see Jackass 3D on Friday night, while I went to my friend's pumpkin carving party. Let's just say the guys kind of wish they had gone to the pumpkin carving party too. ; )

Saturday, I enjoyed a leisurely morning, took a two hour nap (I know, impressive), and worked out. The guys went to the UT game. (Let's not discuss it. Such a sad season for the Longhorns. Instead, I am focusing all my football attention on the Oregon Ducks.) Then we took Aaron out for BBQ at the Salt Lick. The wait was seriously two hours-- the worst it's ever been for us. Needless to say, when our food arrived, we stuffed ourselves silly. Then we were all so spent that we had no choice but to come home and lie on the couch and watch Missou take down Oklahoma. And what does that mean, my friends?? Oh, yes it does... The Oregon Ducks are now ranked #1 in the BCS for the first time ever. Let's hope they do not continue the streak of number 1 teams losing on the road when they play USC next weekend. Gulp.

Yesterday, I finished up the weekend on an uber productive note-- seven loads of laundry (that should give you an idea of how busy we've been the past few weekends), meal planning for the week, grocery shopping, working out, and making the Barefoot Contessa's Italian Wedding Soup (click the link for the recipe) with chicken sausage meatballs from scratch. It was delicious. It was slightly time consuming due to all the vegetable chopping, but it turned out really well. And it was one of those great dinners that tastes really good, but is good for you too. Definitely a good Sunday evening project. And now I've got leftovers in my freezer! Can't beat that.

There's a first time for everything

This weekend J & I are heading up to Dallas to meet his parents (who flew down to Texas last week have been doing a road trip through Galveston, New Orleans, and Mississippi) and are venturing out to the Texas State Fair. Would you believe that I have never attended a state fair... ever? J assured this is extremely weird.

Where I grew up in Oregon, the state fair just wasn't a big deal. It was the same situation in California, where I went to college and lived for several years after college. (In fact, I don't know if California even has one.) In Washington, the state fair was a little bit more of a big deal-- as in, I recall seeing commercials for it on TV and actually knew a few people who attended. I think I even talked casually about going with some friends once or twice, but it just never happened.

So this will be my inaugural state fair visit. And what better way to get the full experience than to visit the Texas State Fair-- arguably the biggest and baddest of them all? From my limited state fair knowledge, the Texas fair is known for its wide variety of delectable fried treats. I'm not big on fried food, but, really-- who can pass up fried candy bars, fried pie, fried butter (ew?), fried margaritas (!), or fried beer (!!)? I need to try a few of these items just for the novelty. I'm also a sucker for carnival rides, so I'm hoping they'll have a few of those.

The weekend forecast looks amazing... highs of 85, lows in the 50s. Have I mentioned that I love October in Texas? Clear blue skies, endless sunny days, zero humidity, and temps that insist you soak up every possible minute outdoors. Hope your weekend agenda includes some delicious (fried) food and gorgeous fall weather too!

Back at it again!

Training, that is... although this time it will be pretty mild. My triathlon partner in crime, Anne, has convinced me to run the San Antonio Rock'n'Roll half marathon relay with her on November 14th. This means we divide up the 13.1 miles between us, although the two legs aren't equal in length. She's using this race as an opportunity to test the waters and decide if she wants to do the Austin half marathon in February, so she is running the longer leg (7.7 miles), while I'm running the much shorter 5.4 mile leg. So my "training" isn't exactly going to be super intense, but since I can barely run 3 miles without walking a little bit right now, I definitely need to get out there for some training runs over the next 5 weeks.

Using Hal Higdon's 10K training schedule as an outline, I'll probably try to fit in one strength training session, one cross-training session (bike, elliptical, etc.-- anything to get my heart rate up for an extended period), and two runs per week. Since I only need to work up to a little over 5 miles, the running should be pretty manageable (and hopefully not too hard on my knee!) How sad is it that I pay good money every month for a gym membership, but need to pay additional money and sign up for a race where I am threatened with pain, humiliation, and/or injury if I don't train in order to actually get my butt moving?? Oh well... I'll take the motivation where I can get it!

Well, hello

After an absence of nearly three months, I feel like my first post back should be really exciting and full of lots of fascinating tales about my life over the past quarter year. (Really? A quarter year?? That makes it sound much longer than it felt...) Really, I've just been busy with normal life stuff and a fair amount of travel, visitors, and summer celebrations. Between the intense heat (which ends up driving me inside for summer hibernation) and J's absence, I thought the summer would drag by But, actually, it didn't.

J and I had a second visit in July, and then I finished out the month with a weekend in Portland for my sister's wedding shower. Ah, blissful 80 degree weather... I remember taking a run at about 11:30am on a Saturday morning (a time at which no living creature ventures outside in Texas during late July), and it was just heaven. Crisp, air. Gentle sunshine. Fragrant flowers. Cue the homesickness.

August took me back to Portland two weeks later for my sister's wedding, which was fabulous-- beautiful bride and groom, touching ceremony, and fantastic party.

A week later, three of my best friends from my San Francisco days visited. We're now all spread out around the country, but there's nothing like catching up with old friends who've known you for years and remind you what your fresh-out-of-college self was like. The years have passed quickly, but we're able to pick up where left off-- as if we just met for brunch last weekend. We indulged in barbecue and swanky Mexican at La Condessa, lounged by the pool, and took stand-up paddle board lessons on Town Lake.


J finally came home from Charlotte, just in time to celebrate my birthday two days later (yay!) His second year of business school started, and then we kicked off September with separate guys and girls trips over Labor Day weekend. He went to New York and I went to Seattle, where I got to catch up with all my Seattle girls. Everything I said above about my San Francisco girls -- ditto here for my Seattle ladies. Quality girl time is something that I value very highly, and being far away from the people who have known me the longest really makes me appreciate my friendships even more. We had some exciting news that weekend--Aja announced that she is expecting and due in April. She's the first of our group, but I have a feeling a few more will be following soon!


September also brought our second anniversary, and we celebrated with a weekend trip to Dallas. I have to say... we've heard a lot of "less than enthusiastic" reviews of Dallas, but we were both pleasantly surprised. We stayed downtown in the historic Adolphus Hotel, enjoyed two fabulous dinners at Rise Souffle and Local, and lost ourselves completely at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, site of JFK's assassination. This museum is fascinating-- we're all familiar with the story of the events that transpired on November 22, 1963, but they've never come to life quite they way they did for me at this museum. It made me much more emotional than I expected, and I can see now what it must have been like to live through that gruesome day for millions of Americans across the country.

Finally, we closed out September with a visit from my sis and new brother in law, Mike. We took them on our usual visitor circuit, including a trip to the Salt Lick and copious amounts of Mexican food, threw in a Bob Schneider show at Threadgill's for good measure, and concluded the weekend with the UT vs. UCLA game. We shall not discuss the outcome of this game-- instead, we'll focus on the great time we had tailgating beforehand, and how excited Mike was to partake in what he termed "big boy college football." The game itself was a disaster, and we all sweat through our shirts in the blazing stadium heat, but I think Mike can now successfully add a check mark to his bucket list.

And here we are in early October... the fall should be not nearly as eventful, but I'm sure it will fly by nonetheless. For those of you who still check in, I promise to be a more faithful blog contributor. Stay tuned for some exciting Texas adventures (including a trip to the State Fair... fried beer, anyone?), some great recipes, and more photos.

La Cucaracaha

...And not in that cute, funny way, where you're all "hey, I'm sipping a margarita and singing about cockroaches in Spanish! How funny!" No, I'm talking about a real cockroach-- an ugly, hairy little guy that was a good inch and a half long. Ew. It gives me the shivers just writing it.

I had grand aspirations for this morning. I've been on a real house keeping kick, deep cleaning and getting everything organized (since I have an empty house and lots of time on my hands), and last night after giving the shower a preliminary spray to loosen up any grime, I set my alarm to get up early and give it a good scrub before work. (I also wanted to get a blog post up, but now I'm sitting at my desk at work and typing furiously before my 9:30am status meeting.)

So my alarm goes off, and I (begrudgingly) get up and head into the bathroom. I start the shower water and hop in. I start to move the non-slip bathmat we have in the shower and then I detect a little movement. Before I can even get out of the way, a cockroach leaps up and on to my leg and foot. Ew!! I am not naturally someone who screams or shrieks. In fact, before this morning, I'm not even sure I knew what I would sound like if I screamed out of sheer terror. But now I do.

I leaped out of the shower and sprinted back into my room. But then I just stood there trying to figure out what to do. I actually called J in a moment of panic. Fortunately he didn't pick up because I'm not sure what I would have said. "Um, can you come back from Charlotte and kill the cockroach in the tub?" Probably not. So I did what any self respecting woman would do. I put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, drove up to HEB at dawn, and bought some Raid to kill it myself. On the way to the store, a bird flew directly into my windshield. I have no idea if it died on the side of the road (I hope not), but I am just thankful that it didn't leave any blood, because I think I would have seriously freaked out at that point.

When I got home, I thoroughly fumigated the bathroom and then shut the door to let the Raid work it's magic while I brewed some coffee and tried to enjoy my Kashi Go Lean with strawberries. I gave it a good 20 minutes and then peeked inside the shower again. The roach appeared to be dead, but I gave him another little spray just to be sure.

Then I spent 10 minutes contemplating how to get him out of the shower. I most definitely was not going to touch it, nor did I want any of my household tools to touch the roach. So finally I covered my broom securely with a plastic bag, then I swept him into a dust pan (which in hindsight I should have also covered with plastic) and dumped him over the edge of our balcony. I had no idea if leaving him in the garbage might encourage his family members to come check him out for some reason.

At this point it was now about 8am, so I had to jump in the shower and get ready and I didn't have time to even clean out the Raid, let alone the deep clean I had planned. I just let the hot water run for a little while to wash away as much of the chemicals as possible. Finally, I got in and got my day started. Let's just say, it was not the way I had planned my morning... I guess it's a good reminder that I'm not really in control. Now I'm sipping my coffee at my desk, and hoping the rest of the day goes a little smoother!

Charlotte and Charleston

Last weekend, I flew back east to visit J in Charlotte. He'd only been gone a week, but since we had a 3 day weekend (and the office closed early on Friday), it just worked better to schedule a visit when I could take advantage of that extra time for travel.

Friday night we had dinner at a surprisingly good Indian restaurant, Maharani. When I think of North Carolina, really authentic Indian food isn't the first thing that comes to mind. But it was delicious... definitely one of the top 10 Indian places I've ever been to. Then J showed me around the town a little bit and we hit the hay early.

Saturday we got up and started our weekend adventure down to Charleston, South Carolina. Neither J or I has spent much time in the Southeast, and it turns out that Charlotte is perfectly situated to drive to many of the top destinations in both of the Carolinas and Georgia in 4 hours or less. Because it was only 3 hours away, we picked Charleston for our first little road trip, and off we went!

We stopped for lunch in Columbia, SC, to try out some South Carolina "Midlands" style barbecue. South Carolina barbeque's unique element is that its sauce is made from a mustard base instead of the traditional tomato base. It was interesting... not amazing, but since we seem to be getting a pretty thorough education in regional BBQ styles, I was glad I tried it. But, it was a buffet style restaurant, and the best item by far was the fried chicken. Mmmm.

We arrived in Charleston on Saturday afternoon, got settled in, and then took a carriage ride to get oriented to the city. What amazing architecture and history! It was one stunning mansion after another, all with gorgeous secret gardens and courtyards peeking out in between. Such a romantic city. It reminded me a little of Venice... the water, the huge mansions, and the ancient patina on everything. Charleston has a rule that nothing over 70 years old can be fixed or updated. It can be restored to its original look or it has to be left as is, so lots of buildings look like they're kind of decaying a little bit, but in a very charming way. We capped off Saturday evening with an awesome dinner at High Cotton, where I had my very first shrimp and grits experience.

On Sunday we woke up and decided to walk down to the South of Broad neighborhood that we had toured by carriage so that we could get a better look at everything. We also toured the Calhoun House, which is a huge mansion, restored to its full 1870s glory. It is said that the original owner of the house was a Civil War blockade runner and the inspiration for the character of Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind.

We spent the rest of the afternoon browsing shops on King Street, followed by a nice long nap. For dinner, we ventured out to Hank's Seafood Restaurant, which J's boss had recommended. I had an amazing roasted flounder on a bed of sweet corn, shrimp, and lobster risotto. Delicious. After that we rolled ourselves over to a nearby bar where we sipped drinks on a rooftop deck until the big fireworks show over Charleston's harbor.

On our final day, Monday, we got up early and headed about 30 minutes outside of Charleston to tour the Boone Hall Plantation-- as a total history dork (who was obsessed with both the book and film versions of Gone With The Wind from ages 12-16), this was my favorite activity of the weekend. Boone Hall is the oldest working plantation in the United States. It was founded in the late 1600s, and they still grow numerous crops, including pecans, berries, pumpkins, onions, etc. They drove us all around the property recounting its history, and then we were free to tour the old slave cabins, which now house numerous interactive exhibits on African American history. Finally, we toured the plantation house-- the exterior of which was used as Allie's parents' home in The Notebook. (The interior of the Calhoun House I mentioned earlier was also filmed as part of Allie's parents' house.)

Finally, we drove back to Charlotte and had some real North Carolina barbecue at Mac's Speed Shop. North Carolina barbecue with its more traditional sauce and mouth watering pulled pork is definitely more my taste that its mustardy cousin in South Carolina, but it was fun to try both out. (I have to say though, I'm becoming more and more of a Texas girl everyday and would still pick Texas BBQ over anything in the Carolinas. You just can't beat the Salt Lick!)

Our last stop was the airport, where Jason dropped me off for my trip back to Austin. It was a fantastic weekend, and a very memorable fourth of July. I'm hoping I'll be able to make another trip out there in a few weeks to explore a little more of the Southeast. I hope you all had a fantastic 4th as well!