Month in review...

Not only is Mason now 5 months old, so much has happened that I haven't really had a chance to post!

For starters we went to the Texas State Fair this year...

This how our little man started the day...

Fried Salsa!

Turned out to be really good!

Mason learned the full on pouty lip while we were there!
This has to be the cutest thing ever!

Mason and Daddy with their matching hats in front of Big Tex!

The famous corn dogs!

Fried bubble gum...this was completely disgusting!
It was like eating and chewing amoxicillin.

The best thing...fried buffalo chicken in a flap jack!  So good!
Nick and I got one order of things and shared...we didn't want to overload our bodies with so much fried food.

How the little man ended our day!

Halloween 2011:

Mason was a Spartan for Halloween!

Complete with sword, shield, arm cuffs, and sandals!

He liked the sword!

His feet touch the floor in his walker! 

He loves it!

Food Truck!

So, I had previously mentioned that Nick and I were on the hunt to try some of the Houston food trucks.  This weekend we successfully tried three more!

First up was Oh My Pocket Pies.  They were so good!  We got salisbury steak and chicken relleno  pocket pies.  It was fun, easy to eat, and delicious!

Next we grabbed some cupcakes from Frosted Betty.  We actually took these home and tried them.  Wow, these cupcakes were amazing...Crave has nothing on these guys!

Last up we tried Phamily bites.  Awesome Vietnamese food!

We had a very successful food truck dinner and some of the proceeds went to a good cause.  We can't wait to try several more food trucks in the area.  The one I am on the hunt for is called Cut and Fry...traditional, Belgian style pom frittes, aka french fries!

First Family Fourth

We enjoyed our long weekend by being extra lazy and cuddly with our new little man!  We also had our parents over on Sunday to celebrate the fourth.  Unfortunately, Mason had a rough night with some tummy/gas issues and slept most of the day.  However, we enjoyed our family time and Mason got lots of love!

Mason in his festive onsie!

Family photo...it had been a long day and we all look a little rough.

Nick and I made s'more cups...they were a huge crowd pleaser.  Needless to say there were no leftovers!

My firecracker cake!

Weekend Success!

With our weekends as just a couple coming to an end extremely soon, Nick and I are making the most of our time together, as well as, getting things ready for our little man!  This weekend was no exception; we had a blast and got some last minute things accomplished. Friday we had kind of an impromptu date.  Let me preface this with some background information…  Nick and I had our hearts set on attending the Haute Wheels Festival (aka, Houston food truck festival).  We were so excited to try all of the fun, different food trucks; however, it didn’t happen.  Needless to say we were pissed, plain and simple!  We then decided to make it our quest to follow and find the food trucks as they make their way around Houston so we can still try them all out.  This is the way you are actually supposed to do it, right?  So, Friday night we knocked one food truck off of our list!  Bernie’s Burger Bus was amazing!  Seriously, one of the best burgers I have ever had, great people run the bus, and as a teacher I love their theme!  Every burger, side order, etc. has fun school related names.  From there we decided to lose our beignet virginity since we were so close to Crescent City Beignets.  I can’t believe we have never had this amazing, incredible dessert/pastry.  It was incredible and totally added to our fabulous meal! From there we got a few items for Mason.  We got a carrier and a pump.  We went with the pump that goes with our bottles to make life easy, and it was on sale which made it even better! Saturday we were able to accomplish are last big thing…coming home outfit.  There are clothes for girls EVERYWHERE, boys not so much.  I couldn’t find what I wanted at all because we did not want just a regular onsie.  We headed towards my parents' house, picked them up, and headed to a boutique in their hood.  It was awesome, and we actually had choices there!  Coming home outfit, check!  We also got to spend the day with my parents which was fabulous.  Plus, my mom is getting closer to having the bedding finished!  Sunday was more of a slow moving day at home and running errands in our neck of the woods.  To finish off Mason’s room we got some true mason jars that actually say ‘mason’ on them!  We were able to get all the little things we wanted to fill them so they could act as decoration for his room.  Everything from barrel of monkeys monkeys to army men to ninjas to cars and more.  His room is done except for the bedding, which should be done in the next couple of weeks.  We of course had sno cone Sunday, did our grocery shopping, and went to church.  Definitely a successful weekend, and we are one week closer to having our baby boy in our arms!

Houston Love!

This past week served as a reminder of why I love living in Houston!

Wednesday we went to Carrie Underwood and Billy Currington with my brother and his girlfriend.  It was wonderful, and made me love Billy Currington even more than ever.  So, with this our 'country western' side got some love.  Then Friday we took my dad to see Shakira, and he absolutely loved it which was the most important thing!  Right there we got to please a family member and get in touch with our Spanish music-belly dancing-concert side.

Saturday we hit up some festivals!  Beautiful October weather made being outside completely fabulous and we had a blast.  We went to the Bayou City Art Fest, and it was amazing!  So many incredible artists from all over with genuine talent and vision.  We came home with a couple of things, but our favorite was a print for our formal dining room (whenever we actually get around to furnishing and decorating it!).  It will perfectly tie in the colors of the room, and I just love it!

Afterward, we went to a brand new restaurant called Jus' Mac.  It is in The Heights, close to where I work, and I have been anxiously awaiting their opening.  They only serve Mac and Cheese, but they do it all up in fun, fancy ways.  It was amazingly good, comfort food to the extreme, and we will definitely be repeat customers!  I mean they have fresh Gerber Daisies on each table, what is not to love!

We then hit up Greek Fest with some friends.  Awesome food, friends, and finds.  We got this great lantern for the mantle...pictures to come.  Then we will all went to do some hookah, and wrapped up our night with good company and good laughs.  So, in one day we were able to be cultured-artistic-foodie-shopping fools!

The best part comes today.  Living in Houston means I am close to my family, and today we are all headed to my brother's for burgers and family time.  We will end our evening at a Dynamo game which will allow us to get in touch with our sporty sides too.  It has been a successful week, and our love for Houston is ever growing!

North Vs. South

I always knew that there some differences when it came to living in the north or south of the U.S.A.  Nick being originally from the north has given me some insight into these differences.  There are the ones that everyone knows...y'all vs. you's guys, pronunciations, etc.  However, the latest difference that I just learned left me shocked and appalled!  They don't have chicken fried steak!!!  I never in my life knew that chicken fried steak was more of a southern thing or Texas thing.  I mean who doesn't love chicken fried steak?!  This really makes me sad for northerners.

Another big difference that I learned when Nick and I got first together, that I find crazy, is that Dairy Queens in the north only have ice-cream and are only open in the summer.  They don't have the yummy steak finger baskets, burgers, hot dogs, etc.  They only have the ice-cream options, and it is a huge deal when they open up after being closed all winter.  They close in October and don't open again until like April, so weird!

Sweet Surprises

This weekend I went on a lovely date with my fabulous husband!  We decided to hit up The Heights first since that is where I will be working and spending a lot of time.  Our first destination was the Art Car Museum...we lived in Houston about 5 mins away and this was our first trip there.

We also found this super charming place called Dessert Shoppe on 19th in The Heights, and it was incredible.  They had all kinds of yummy, caloric fabulousness, but Nick and I decided on cupcakes.  It was an amazing choice, but I bet everything there is wonderful.

We also saw Dinner For Schmucks, which was hilarious.  I love Paul Rudd and Steve Carell, and the movie really was excellent...as my brother put it, "it is a comedy that actually has a really good plot"!

Dinner was interesting, to say the least.  We decided to try Tokyohana only to find that it had some sweet surprises and some disappointments as well.  To begin, I have never been to a restaurant where a magician walks around.  I am being very serious, there was a magician who walked to each table doing card tricks.  I haven't quite decided if it was off-beat and fun or just odd and a little disturbing.  Anyway, food was ok, the portions were huge, as was the price, and it is the only hibachi restaurant I have ever been to that makes you pay extra for the soup and salad.  It wasn't a bad experience, just not as good as we would have liked.

We had a very successful date, did lots of exploring in The Heights, and enjoyed a day where it was just the two of us!  On a completely different note, yesterday was of course Sno-Cone Sunday, and my brother joined us and spent the evening with us.  He has since decided that he will always join in on Sno-Cone Sunday and Selina, his girlfriend can't wait to come next weekend!  Weekend was amazing, and unfortunately my summer is officially over and it is back to work for me...

Weekend Love

I can't help but wish at times that Nick was a teacher too so we could enjoy all summer like a giant weekend!  On the other hand, our weekends are that much more precious and fabulous.  Plus, I had no idea that going to a new school district was so crazy.  I have several orientation/welcome/information things I have to go to, and since I will be at a Vanguard school I have several GT/Pre-AP trainings to do.  This being said, my summer is slipping away faster then I would like and is making me appreciate weekends again already.

This weekend was full of whoopie pies and Lady Gaga!  Nick and I decided to not only try and make whoopie pies, but to also use our cake decorating and piping kit.  His dad basically manages all kinds of restaurants, and for a while he was in charge of all the Baskin Robbins and Dunkin' Donuts in the North Carolina-Virginia area.  This meant he actually went to Donut University and learned how to do all kinds of cool stuff, i.e. decorate cakes.  Well, we have cake decorating stuff that he gave us and we have never touched so this was an opportunity to at least play with the piping bags and tips!  Without further ado, here are our whoopie pies...recipe from Bakerella.

Classic Chocolate Whoopie


1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a bowl, sift together, flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
• In another bowl, beat butter, shortening and sugar with a mixer on low until just combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes.
• Add egg and vanilla and beat for two more minutes.
• Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk and beat on low until incorporated. Repeat with remaining flour and milk and beat until combined.
• Using a tablespoon, drop batter on baking sheet two inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes each or until pies spring back when pressed gently.
• Remove from oven and cool for about five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

1 Tbsp of batter should make about 48 two-inch cakes or 24 pies.
2 Tbsp of batter should make about 30 four-inch cakes or 15 pies.

Salty Peanut Butter Filling


3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (or crunchy)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

• Beat peanut butter and butter on low until creamy using a mixer.
• Add sugar and salt and beat on low to incorporate. Increase speed to medium and beat for about four minutes until the filling is light and fluffy.
• Spread filling on flat side on one cooled cake. Top it with a second cake and press gently.

They are so yummy and crazy sweet.  It makes a lot, and since they are so super sweet you can't really just eat them one after another; therefore, Nick's office loves us and the yummy whoopie pies!


Next there was Lady Gaga!  You can say what you want about her, but:

• She can truly sing...she sings the entire show while dancing!  No lip singing, recordings, just her
• She dances for most of the show, and she dances well!
• She has amazing musical talent when it comes to instruments!
• While eccentric, her message is clear: Don't judge others, love yourself, and Jesus loves everyone!  I don't think anyone can argue with that, and many of those who don't like her are judging her so I guess they should stop and think about why they dislike her.

Anyway, we had a good time and thought the show was great!  There were some interesting people there, but the concert was fantastic.

R2-Sweet Tooth

We have a new addition to the kitchen...

Meet R2-Sweet Tooth!  I think this is the cutest cookie jar ever, I love it.  Nick and I watch Big Bang Theory and once we saw their robot cookie jar we knew we wanted one too.  He is already full of homemade chocolate chip cookies, and looks fabulous in his new home!