what a DAY you guys. 

N and I decided to get up early and take the train downtown and go to the museum of nature & science, but since we're dummies and didn't get tickets before going, we weren't able to get in. 

HOWEVER, we did have a blast walking around in the freezing weather. there's something so energizing about downtown areas - I mean, nature is great and all, but high rises and endless concrete makes it feel so *purposeful. I could walk for hours and never get tired. 

after our first failure, we tried to go to the dallas museum of art, but they wouldn't let us in with our leftover pizza (BUMMER). we weren't about to chuck the leftover 2/3 of a pizza we were toting around, so we decided to pass it up. it's always a good choice, btw, if you're ever in the area. in the end, I followed N around while he played with his Ingress game thing.

so we're thinking of making a trek to downtown a weekly ritual of sorts. I'm really digging the idea. 

1. on the train. fancy coffee!

2. the perot museum of nature and science. according to this scathing google user review, it's all about (gasp) SCIENCE (go figure). 

3. icky pigeons warming their naughty bits on the vents. seriously -they wouldn't move. I tried to mess with them, but no go. they were hunkered down for the long haul.

4. dallas' version of the high rise: an overpass-turned-park with newsstands, food trucks, grassy areas, and little cafe tables. quite awesome.

5. heading home - sun flares.

6. our reflections in the tunnel. I'm ARTSY.

Hey everyone. Just checking in on this fine Monday. 

We just got back from celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday in Houston this past weekend and I'm not gonna lie, I'm a bit out of sorts. Feeling kinda anxious, kinda edgy. So I'm going to ease off for this week and get back to sketching and designing new things for the shop. I have a big stack of books from the library for inspiration and I'm going to hunker down in my cluttered little corner of the apartment and re-adjust. 

See you in a few days!

This weekend:

1. 10 teensy fingers + 10 teensy toes = 1 new member of the family. Welcome, Baby M!

2. Downtown church reaching for that big blue Texas sky. 

3. Decaying corrugated roof in downtown Bryan.

4. Summer grasses overgrowing the sidewalks. 

5. Collectible vs. Collectable. I vote the former.

6. A most perfect reflection of the clear sky in downtown Groesbeck. 

7. Urban ruins.

8. Killer signage. 

I thought I'd take a break from packing up the house to share a few images from our adventures in San Antonio last weekend. It was a nice little vacation for three days, and we were able to visit my parents, which is a rarity (although we live only 3 hours away).

N had never seen the Missions, so we went to see San Jose and Concepcion. Truth be told, I hadn't been since I was in elementary school, so it was nice to re-learn a bit of our history.

The rest of the weekend was spent just hanging around the house and eating. A lot. Delicious empanadas at Beto's, a FANTASTIC portobello burger at Big'Z, beers + live music at Tycoon Flats. Oh, and pedicures with my Alzheimer's-riddled grandmother, which was so much fun.

Lola had a great time running around my parents' ginormous back yard. She's a bit of a mountain goat.

I hope all of your weekends are going well. 

N and I spent a bit of time packing yesterday and then we went to a going-away barbecue (where we drank WAY TOO MUCH). This morning N left to help his family in the Houston area, so I'm all aloney on my owny to pack up a bunch of stuff (and eat lots of breakfast tacos to cure the hangover...oy). On the list: everything. Even plates  and whatnot (hurrah paper plates! not). This moving stuff is crazy - we've been here for over 2 years and good lord we have so much crap. But we're making progress, which is what counts. 

This coming week is my last at work - so.weird. I've been working since I was 13. Quitting my job for the unknown is beyond insane. I'm crazy nervous and more than a little apprehensive, and my OCD is in overdrive trying to make sure that everyone knows EVERYTHING that I do and has every little scrap of paper that could potentially be important, which is, you know, like everything.

So yeah. Posting will probably be even lighter than usual the next week, but will pick up when we get where we're going.

Have a great week!

so, as far as weekends go, this one kind of.... sucked.
somehow (ahem. N.) I caught some sort of godawful epizooty madness that kept me confined to either the couch or the bed, wishing I could have someone drill a hole in my forehead to eliminate the demons setting up shop. 
luckily, Lola had nothing else to do and so she hung out with me all weekend. 

I may or may not have watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy. extended versions. 
don't judge. 

giving thanks.
at times, it can be difficult, no? it's easy to complain, to have something to worry about. but this is the time of year when we are reminded just how lucky we truly are. 
I'm thankful for so much. while this past year has been emotionally arduous, I'm reminded on a daily basis of how bad things could *actually* be.
we have food in the refrigerator.our bills are paid.(well, with the exception of student loans, but who counts those?)our gas tanks are full.both of us are employed.we both have families who support us almost blindly, even when we seem to least deserve it.we have friends who care.we have clothes on our backs. we have basic necessities that are often taken for granted - clean water, trash removal, and access to services many around the globe cannot even dream of. 
incredibly lucky. incredibly blessed.
today was spent with both of our families - a rare occurrence. we started with my family: a late lunch of epic proportions. sweet & yukon potatoes au gratin, turkey, roasted cauliflower & broccoli in a garlic cream sauce, rolls, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole (by yours truly), avocado & pomegranate salad, gravy, dressing, the works. followed by ricotta cake with macerated berries, coffee, truffles, and chocolate mint brownies. 
I nearly died of food ecstasy. 
two hours later, we arrived at N's grandparents' farm for Operation Fat Pants: Round Two. an avalanche of appetizers, more turkey, SO.MUCH.dressing, more sweet potatoes, cranberry salad, gravy, buttered rolls. everything was finished with amazing Czech cream cheese & poppy seed bread (made from kolache dough). SO GOOD. 
post-feasting included watching football on cell phones, impromptu surgery to remove glass from N's 10-year-old cousin's foot, a couple of hair cuts, and lots of jabbering. in summary: perfect. 
I couldn't have asked for a better Thanksgiving.

I hope all was well with you and yours, and that your pants no longer fit (ahem, like me). I also hope that you were smart enough to not forget your other pair of jeans in case of such an emergency - like this smart chick did.

I'm a little bit late in posting this, so I'm sorry! Things have been nutty (per usual). Here's what we did last weekend: 
Apartment Hunting

Tacos, tacos, tacos (and Huevos Divorciados. YUM.)

Doggies.

Halloween Par-taaaay. 

This weekend we went to Austin.The trip was pretty spur-of-the-moment (N was suddenly able to get crazy cheap tickets to see The Naked & Famous and we figured why the hell not?). 
Surprisingly enough, it ended up being crazy productive and amazing. 
We went to the show on Friday night. Honestly, we knew like one song, but for 10 bucks a piece, it was a pretty ballin evening.

Saturday we got a late start. Coffee and whatnot in the morning, tacos and driving around in the afternoon. We spent most of the day combing Austin neighborhoods for "For Rent" signs in the hopes that something completely epic and cheap would fall into our laps. No such luck. At least there was El Chilito and more coffee to make us un-grumpy.

Sunday was more driving. And more tacos. This time: Torchy's. Verdict: meh. I went for the potato taco and a migas taco, both of which were just fine. Their queso, however, was AMAZEBALLS.

Also eaten: P.Terry's Burgers, home of the most amazing veggie burger known to man (until I find the next one). SO GOOD. Didn't get a picture, as I scarfed it pretty damn quick.

Random scenes:

When we got home Sunday night, we were crazy exhausted. Luckily, we left Austin armed with tons of info about apartments and a list of places to visit this coming weekend when we head back for a bitchin Halloween party.
How was your weekend? 

All photos by me.