Girls Getaway.

This weekend, my mom and I packed up our suitcases, drove out to Dallas Love Field and flew away for the weekend. A weekend away couldn't get here fast enough. Things have been so busy at work and in our personal lives. We were looking forward to having a much needed weekend away from all the busyness of our day to day lives.

Now if you know my mom and me, you know that we are shoppers. We are the type of gals to leave early in the morning to go shopping, and we don't come home until 9 or 10 or sometimes even later depending how late malls and stores stay open! Our shopping stamina is insane. Not to mention we also love a good deal or sale! I mean, who doesn't?! My sisters, on the other hand, are complete opposites. They enjoy shopping, of course, but their style is more "in and out". They quickly browse, get what they need and head out. 

So as you can see, it only makes sense that the Mall of America has been on our Bucket List for quite some time now. Thanks to my thoughtful and sweet husband, he made that dream come true. Colt did all the leg work for booking the flights, booking the hotel accommodations and so forth. I know that alone takes a lot of work and we were truly grateful. What a surprise! Mom and I have been counting down the days to our weekend getaway. On Thursday, the time had finally come! 

We flew out around 8 a.m. on Thursday morning. We had a quick stop in St. Louis but we didn't have to change planes. The flight attendants were super sweet and told us that we were going to love the mall and love the people in Minnesota. We landed in Minneapolis around noon and we picked up our luggage, found our shuttle and headed to the hotel. Thanks to Colt's hotel status, we didn't have to wait until 3 pm to check in and were able to check in right away! Mom and I dropped off our luggage and headed back to the shuttle. We only had a weekend and we were not about to waste any time getting to the mall! 

Excited for a new adventure! 

Fun in the airport when we landed.

We arrived at the mall and we were in awe! People had told us that we would be unimpressed, that it was just like any mall here, and that we wouldn't like it. Boy, were they wrong! We LOVED IT! Saying the mall was huge is an understatement! We were told that the mall has been recently renovated and it is gorgeous. Shiny white tile, beautiful natural light, so.many.stores. 

The largest Nordstrom I've ever seen! 

Bucket list checked off! 

Roller coasters and Farris Wheel inside the mall! Wow! 

We spent the remainder of the day checking out a few stores, ate dinner there and caught a late movie before heading back to our hotel. It had been a long day and we were ready to take off our makeup, shower and kick up our feet. We had an early and busy day the next day! I'm glad we headed back to the hotel at that time because I had the world's worst migraine come on and I needed to lay down. The beds and pillows in the hotel felt like we were sleeping on clouds. We got 10-12 hours of sleep a night and we never get that many hours of sleep a night. It was much needed! Pure heaven. 

Friday morning we woke up early, got dressed and realized it was pouring rain. We had planned to walk across the street from our hotel and catch breakfast at Einstein's Bagels but it was pouring rain and freezing cold. We called an Uber and had Alexander drive us to breakfast instead. He was a very kind, sweet and talkative gentleman. It was my mom's first time trying out Uber and she loved it! She was so impressed. Uber is seriously the best thing ever. In fact, every Uber driver we had this weekend was friendly and phenomenal. We had a delicious, healthy breakfast and great conversation. Afterwards, we ordered another Uber ride and headed out to one of the local Catholic churches. Fridays during Lent we are attending "Stations of the Cross" so we found a service at noon and decided to check it out, much thanks to the app called "Mass Times.Org"! If you're interested in learning more about what Stations of the Cross are, this website has a great explanation! 

It takes a small village of makeup to get me ready for the day! Hah! And this is only the "travel size"  version that I brought with me! 

The people at this local church were so friendly and helpful. They took the time to show us around, explain their church's history and chat with us before the service. 

After church we caught another Uber to the mall where we spent the rest of our day browsing, shopping, snacking (so many food courts!!!) and attending another movie. We don't eat red meat, turkey or chicken on Friday's during Lent so we stopped in at Tony Roma's for dinner. Shrimp Scampi for me and Shrimp on a skewer for my mom. It was so delish! We stayed at the mall until it closed and caught the shuttle back to our hotel. It was so cold that night!!! 

Yum! 

Ready to head back to the hotel

Once we got back to the hotel we relaxed, showered and fell asleep pretty quickly. We didn't realize just how exhausted we were. Mind you, it was around 10 or 11 when we fell asleep! 

Saturday morning we woke up and got dressed and decided to go downstairs for breakfast at the hotel. The chef made fresh waffles, pancakes and custom omelettes for us and we devoured it! The food there was amazing. After breakfast we did a little sight seeing and then headed back to the mall! LOTS of shopping, roller coaster rides, eating, ice cream and fun! We were having the time of our lives! 

Checking the weather at the hotel! We saw snow! 

Loving the mall! 

We love Minnesota! ;) 

Later that evening we headed to another beautiful church and went to Mass. The congregation was warm, welcoming and inviting. The service was inspiring and we even got a special blessing from the priest! Afterwards, mom and I headed to dinner out on the town. (Unfortunately, I didn't take any more pics that night.) After dinner we decided to return to our hotel, pack up all our loot, and relax for a bit. 

Sunday morning we were leisurely. We lounged in our hotel room. Caught up on one of my guilty pleasures, reality tv, "Mob Wives" and enjoyed the last few hours we had in our comfy beds! We seriously could not get over how incredibly comfy the pillows were. We looked up what kind of pillows the hotel used and mom and I have decided we must buy these exact pillows and put them in our own beds! I'm telling you... these pillows were life changing!!! Best night's sleep!

We made one last stop at the mall before having lunch at a local sandwhich shop and heading out to the airport. As I'm sure you know, when on vacation, the time and days fly by so fast. We flew out to Kansas City for a layover before heading back to Dallas. While we were in KC we had dinner at this quaint little place called "The Pork and Pickle". The recommendations did not disappoint! 

Flying homeeeee

This trip is just what we needed. Our weekend away was relaxing, rejuvenating, fun, adventurous, and cold! We definitely loved having the chance to see snow. Also, the Minnesotans are seriously the kindest, most nicest, helpful people you will ever meet. They are our new friends! 

It was so nice to catch up on sleep and do things that we don't normally have time to do. We feel refreshed and ready to get back to work and get back to our students. 

A huge thank you once again to my sweet husband for working so hard to make this happen. 

Hope all of you had a refreshing and relaxing weekend! 

We love you all! 

Love is the Only Gold

Many people think Valentine's Day is just a "retail holiday". I've also heard people say that they don't need a special day dedicated to love and that you should show and tell your loved ones that you love them all throughout the year. Which we completely agree with! Still, Valentine's happens to be one of my favorite days to celebrate! I love love! Plus, we love any reason to celebrate each other, our love and all our other loved ones that we are blessed to have in our lives! 

My Valentine festivities began on Friday. My students came to school so excited to share their Valentine boxes and pass out Valentine cards to all their friends! Later that day, we had our Valentine's Party where we celebrated with a "Sweetheart Sundae" bar. I even received a couple of Valentine Candy grams from a few of my former students. How sweet! 

One of my darling students showed up with Valentine's Hair! Precious! 

A few of the Valentine boxes my students made! So creative! 

Saturday, Colt left early for school and was at school for most of the day. I woke up, made breakfast, caught up on some DVR and took a much needed mid day nap. It was fantastic. I did a few things around the house and ran some errands. Colt returned home later that afternoon where he snoozed for a few hours before our date night. Poor guy runs on little to no sleep pretty much throughout the week. Business school is no joke! We had reservations for dinner in downtown Fort Worth. I got home around 8 PM when I showered, did my hair and makeup and we finally ran out the door around 9:30. We love any reason to get dressed up and go out for a night out on the town. Last night was perfect! 

We had 10:00 PM dinner reservations at Capital Grille. It was our first time there and we were not disappointed! The restaurant lived up to our expectations and the atmosphere there was so romantic. A candle lit dinner, good food, even better conversation, lots of laughs and the guy I love sitting across from me makes my heart feel all the feels. 

For appetizers we had the Steak Tartare and the Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella which was heaven! For our main course Colt had the Dry Aged Porterhouse Steak while I had the All-Natural Herb Roasted Chicken. The chicken was the juiciest, most tender chicken I've ever had! For sides, we shared the Lobster Mac n Cheese, Parmesan Truffle Fries and Grilled Asparagus lightly drizzled with lemon! So mouthwatering and delicious! We highly recommend eating there. Thank you to everyone who recommended it to us! 

My handsome forever Valentine

After dinner we went for a night cap and when we arrived back home late last night, I walked into the kitchen to find this: 

 How did I become the luckiest gal on Earth?! Swoon! 

This morning, I set out my Valentine's for my sweet Valentine who was still soundly sleeping.  

Around 9 this morning, we woke up, got dressed and headed over to my parents for a Valentine's Day Brunch. My youngest sister made a homemade brunch for all of us which included mimosas, all the tasty brunch items and homemade Valentine donuts! My parents house was decorated with lots of pink red and hearts! Always so festive there. My parents were sweet enough to surprise Colt and I with a few goodies. Unfortunately, these are the only pictures I took while we were there. 

After brunch, we stayed and visited with the fam. A couple of hours later and everyone in the house was ready for an afternoon nap. Colt and I headed back home for our own naps. We ended our evening with pizza and pjs and a new series on Showtime called "Billions"! 

Our weekend was definitely filled with fun and lots of love. We hope that each of you were showered with flowers, chocolates, and all of your favorites. Most importantly, we hope you were made to feel loved because we love you all. 

Happy Hearts Day! 

Please Remove Your Shoes... Your Comfort is Meaningless to Us!

Tonight's post was inspired by an article I read recently on social media listing reasons why you shouldn't wear shoes inside the house. 

Now I know for some of you this probably sounds absurd! The majority of our friends and family allow shoes inside the house. In fact, throughout my entire life I can only think of a total of 2 houses I have ever been to that requested that their guests remove their shoes before walking around inside their home. So as you see, this was not a tradition or anything that Colt and I grew up with.  Quite honestly, I don't exactly remember how Colt and I decided this. It's not like we discussed this topic while house hunting 3 years ago. All I can remember, is that once we found the house we wanted to purchase, it's like we both knew instantly and agreed that our house, that we would make into a home, would be one without the wearing of shoes inside. 

I am a little on the OCD side. Colt and I both are very sanitary and do everything in our power to keep germs at bay. Colt deals with quite a bit of allergy issues and therefor, not wearing shoes inside the house seemed like the most logical thing to do in our home. I once read somewhere that Good Morning America did some kind of test and found that, "The bottoms of shoes were dirtier than toilet seats!" That has always stuck with me. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. If you really think about it, our shoes literally step everywhere! Our shoes step in water, oil, gas, animal waste or droppings, gum, vomit, mud, bars, daycares, schools, parking lots, bathrooms... the list goes on and on! Yuck! We just couldn't fathom stepping in all these things then bringing all that dirt, bacteria and germs into our home and stepping everywhere in the house. So you see, our decision was made for us.

Just a few of our shoes lined up in our foyer by our front door. 

From day one we have taken off our shoes once walking inside the front door. We've asked for our guests to remove their shoes before entering inside our humble little abode. Now I know this is an unexpected and sometimes uncomfortable request for some of our guests. If you've visited our home then you already know our rules. If you haven't visited our home yet, we usually try to give our guests advance notice regarding our request. That way, if our guests are uncomfortable with walking around barefoot, they are able to make appropriate accommodations. For example, we have loved ones who prefer to walk around in socks, we've had guests bring their own house slippers and we have had some guests who prefer to have had a pedicure before taking off their shoes in front of others. Our home is always open for the ones we love and we want all our guests to be happy and comfortable however, this is one thing we haven't budged on. 

Now you may have asked yourself, "Well, what happens when Terminix or painters or the AT&T U-verse guy or home repair guys or the insurance adjuster comes over?" Simple. We also ask them to remove their shoes. Even the washer and dryer guys and the men who delivered our refrigerator as well as the men who mounted our tv when we first moved in were asked to remove their shoes. You'd be surprised to find out that most of these people bring little booties to place over their shoes when they walk into a house. They don't automatically put them on and wear them, but once we asked them to remove their shoes, they willingly do so or the majority will walk back to their van and get their booties. The booties look like scrubs doctors wear for surgery. It's perfect! 

Don't get me wrong though, being diligent about not wearing shoes in the house can also be a pain in the neck!  For example, our shoes for just us two, will pile up by the front door, back door and garage door quickly!!! Before you know it, there are 654795025 shoes that are out and need to be taken back to our closets to be put away. It is quite a task. Colt and I always have the best intentions of taking our shoes back up to our closets at the end of the day, but we usually forget or are just too tired and lazy and put it off for tomorrow. Thus, the shoes eventually start piling up. There have been a few occasions where I have had to get a laundry basket to pile all our shoes into so that I can take them back upstairs and put them away.  Also, it can be quite annoying when you've already put on your shoes and tied them, or put on your boots and realized you left something upstairs. In that case I usually call out to Colt and beg him to bring down the item I forgot. If it's just me in the house, then it's a huge hassle and a few unladylike words may come out. It's especially annoying if this happens AND I'm already running late! Grrr! First world problems! Haha! 

I also vacuum and steam clean our floors as often as I can. Between our hectic work schedules and school schedules, we don't always get this chore accomplished weekly. I don't know if the shoe thing has anything to do with it, but I can honestly say that Colt and I hardly get sick. I was sick for the first time in 2015 back in December and I work with 5 and 6 year olds daily! (I am also a firm believer in frequent hand washing!) 

All our family and friends that come over are always very obliging to remove their shoes, and for this we thank you. We appreciate that you love and care for us so much that you respect our wishes. 

If you are interested in reading the article I read on social media and the reasoning behind not wearing shoes inside the house, you can do so here.  Good Housekeeping published an article regarding reasons not to wear shoes inside the house. You can find that article here. My favorite quote from this article is, "When you remove your shoes, you're subconsciously telling your brain that you're done for the day and it's relaxation time. Go ahead, you deserve it."  If you google this topic, you can find some other pretty cool reads. 

Just a few shoes by the back door. We are getting better about not leaving as many shoes out! 

Floors are not more important than people and we want all our guests to feel welcome and comfortable in our home so we do have new socks for guests to use if they prefer. Emily Post Institute says that removing your shoes is something you can ask of guests so in that case it's a win-win! Hah! 

Thanks for respecting our wishes and our home! We love you all! 

Birthday Month

Birthday month has been fulfilling, busy and eventful so far! Colt and I are finally getting back into the groove of things. Well, mostly I have been getting back into the swing of things. Colt had this past week off from school so he has been enjoying an extra week of sleeping in, late nights, relaxing days and catching up on sleep and errands. 

Last weekend, my mom and I dropped my uncle off at the train station in downtown Fort Worth and he headed back to San Antonio. I know you must be thinking... who still uses the train to travel?!?!  I tried it out a few years ago when I went to visit Colt while he was still living in San Antonio and it was a pleasant experience! It's definitely not as quick as a plane ride, but it's cheaper and so relaxing! There's even a dining car on the train where you get to eat lunch and dinner with other people. When I rode the train, I got to dine across from a man who had lived all over the world and he kept me entertained throughout all of lunch with his amazing stories about his life and adventures. If you're not in a hurry to get somewhere, I definitely recommend traveling by train at least once in your life. 

After the train station, my mom and I went and did a little birthday shopping at University Park Village by TCU. It was lovely weather to be outdoors, walking around and shopping. The weather wasn't warm but it wasn't too cold. It was a perfect Sunday. Our last stop was the Kendra Scott store where we bought ourselves some new birthday jewels. During your birthday month, you can buy a piece of jewelry for half off so we weren't about to pass that up! Us Capricorn girls sure do like sparkles!  My birthday is on the first and my mom's is on the 12th of January so we prefer to celebrate all month. ;)

The first week back at work after the holidays is both exciting and exhausting. It's exciting because I actually do miss my students and I can't wait to see them and hear all about what they experienced over the break and hear what wonderful gifts Santa brought them. It's also exhausting because for 16 days I didn't have to set a 5:30 AM alarm clock, stand on my feet all day and let's face it, I'm just not used to working! Last week, I was discussing with my students what their New Year's Eve traditions were and we read books about New Year's traditions and resolutions. I explained to them that a resolution is a promise you make to yourself to learn how to do something or become better at something. We did a writing assignment regarding what our resolutions would be for 2016. Some of my students wrote they wanted to learn how to use an ax or learn how to cut down a tree or learn how to drive a car! They definitely have some big goals and aspirations for this year. My kiddos are just so sweet and too cute for words! This is just one of the many reasons I love my job! 

Being back at work also means I get to see lots of people I love spending my work day with. I really am so lucky to work at such an amazing school with some of the most brilliant people I know. These ladies are just 2 of the wonderful people I teach with! Love, love, love them! 

One of our goals this year is to make and eat healthier food choices. The first step to that, in my opinion, is to not eat out as frequently as we have been. The month of December was basically an "all you can eat contest"! With all the sweets and goodies at work, and at our loved ones houses and at our house, while it was delicious, it wasn't exactly the best choice. We were eating out 1-2 times a day especially over Christmas break. It was just so much easier and convenient to have food picked up or delivered. I have to admit, I've really never been much of a cook but I'm trying! I've been researching healthier recipes and trying out new things in the kitchen. It's definitely a lot more work and time and prep but I know this is what's best for us and our bodies. While we aren't perfect by any means, I am proud of some of the food choices we've been making this past week. For me breakfast and lunch are easy to meal prep for. Dinner is where I tend to struggle. Let's be honest, after waking up early, working a full day, driving in traffic, and working out or having to grocery shop after work, I don't exactly feel like standing in the kitchen for another hour or so to prep and cook dinner. The struggle is real, folks! Here's a few of the recipes I've tried this week: 

Turkey Chili

Healthier version of Stacked Enchiladas

Chicken, Spinach and Tomato Pasta Bake

Breakfast Muffins filled with mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, jalapenos, turkey sausage, herbs and egg whites. 

One of the nights though we did eat out. Colt's dad's birthday was last week and we met up with his parents for an Italian dinner at Taste of Italy. Dinner was delicious and we had a fun evening laughing and catching up. I meant to get a picture of all of us and I completely forgot. I didn't realize I forgot the picture until we got home. Such a bummer! 

Yesterday, Colt had to be up and out early in the morning. He had to go to a class at TCU so he was gone most of the day. The entire day was cloudy and COLD. I spent my day cuddled up in our warm, flannel bed watching movies! 

Anyone else love flannel sheets in the winter?!

Colt got home around 2:30 PM and we were both starving. Leftovers didn't sound appealing so we opted for burgers from Whataburger. Hey it's called balance, right?! ;) (I told you we aren't perfect! lol) We rented a movie OnDemand called, "Sicario". It was actually pretty good, full of action and kept us on our toes! I love getting to hang out with my best friend and cuddle up under the warm blankets watching movies all day! It's the best! Colt opted for a nap after the movie, and I continued watching movies like Titanic! I haven't seen that movie in SO long. Hours later we were hungry again and at midnight decided to have a date night at Pluckers. We bundled up and ventured out in the 28 degree cold. We had a great time eating wings and celery! Woo hoo. Go us! 

So one of our favorite shows ever is Shark Tank. We are obsessed with all the "sharks" as well as some of the amazing products we see on there. We have a stainless steel fridge and fingerprints on it drives me INSANE. I've researched and Pinterest-ed so many ideas for cleaning stainless steel. I've tried every homemade concoction as well as every thing that is sold on the market and haven't found one thing I have loved until I was over at my friend Shannon's house. She recommended I try this product they saw on Shark Tank called, "Einshine".  I was equally as interested to try it and give it a whirl. She put some of the liquid in a jar for me to take home. I finally tried it out and let me tell you... I. Am. In. Love. It works wonders. I was so impressed. I was telling my family all about it and sending pics. I was sold and I ordered my own bottle from Amazon. I also love the fact that it's more of a healthy, natural product for your home. I wish I had a before and after pic but I only have the after. It's so shiny and spotless. My OCD heart is full! 

Like I said, we love the Shark Tank show and we have ordered several products from the show already, another product being the "Squatty Potty". Colt is seriously head over heels with the Squatty Potty and he swears by it! I ordered something online recently that I saw on the show and unfortunately, it was backordered so I probably won't be receiving it until the end of the month or February. I'll update you with what it is and what I think of it when I receive it in the mail! 

This afternoon we went over to my parents house and met up with my parents and sisters for a late lunch-dinner. My mom made cornbread, broccoli and cheese soup, and chicken and dumplings. All homemade. It was delectable! We had a really great time joking around and visiting with my fam. Colt brought us Braums and then we chatted for a little while longer before Colt and I headed back home. So basically we had a cheat weekend instead of a cheat meal... hey, baby steps, right? That's all that matters! I hope we are at least a little bit of encouragement to someone out there! Hah! 

Tonight we've been meal prepping for the week and catching up on some DVR. Colt officially starts his spring and second semester as a business student tomorrow. I am so proud of him. We are now a quarter way through this program! Time is flying fast! I'm sure before we know it, he will be finished with the program and graduating! 

God is good all the time, all the time God is good. 

Wishing each and every one of you a restful night, a productive week and many blessings! 

We love you all! 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, friends! 2015 was a great year. It was full of opportunities, family, friends, fun times, and lots of memories. We look forward to beginning a new year and working on healthier sleep habits, healthier food choices, making time for more exercise, making time for family and friends and focusing on us as a couple and bringing even more prayer and faith into our daily lives. We cannot wait to see all the blessings and wonderful things that 2016 has in store for us and for all of you! 

We rang in the new year at our house. We kept it pretty low key and relaxing.  Colt and I provided the decorations, food and drinks. My parents, sisters, my sister's boyfriend and my uncle came over. My uncle is my mom's brother who lives in San Antonio. We have always been close to my uncle growing up even though he lives 5 hours away. He has been a positive role model and major influence in our lives. We have been so blessed to have strong family values. 

Anyone else eat 12 grapes at midnight? One grape for each month of the year for good luck! 

Unky and me

Cheers to sisters

Unky and mom

New Year's Day is my birthday and this year we celebrated my birthday right at midnight on NYE with champagne, cake, ice cream and opened presents from my family. SO much fun! Thank you to all my friends and family who took the time to call me and text me right at midnight. You sure do know how to make a girl feel loved! 

We stayed up until 4 AM the night before so New Year's Day Colt and I slept in. It was lovely! I came downstairs and woke up to presents from Colt and a homemade brunch. He even made funfetti pancakes with a pink candle in it! Isn't he the best?!

New Year's Day we didn't do anything too fancy. In fact, it was quite the opposite. We ate leftovers, snacked all day and spent the day relaxing on the couch side by side and watching the Twilight Zone New Year's Marathon on SyFy. It was nice to spend my special day with my favorite person in the world. We weren't rushing to get dressed to go somewhere, we weren't out in the cold waiting to eat out at a fancy restaurant, I didn't have to get dolled up. It was wonderful to spend quality time with my best friend. I wouldn't trade these special times for anything in the world! 

Later that night, Colt ran out to pick up some dinner while I was showering. After showering, I found this on our bed. What a pleasant surprise! This guy continues to amaze me day after day.  I love him so! 

New Year's and my birthday were simply wonderful. What a special and great way to begin 2016! A big thank you to my darling husband for his constant love, support, for making me laugh daily and for always making me feel like the most important person in the room. 

We are ready for a new year, a new start and new adventures. Here's to new ideas, new success, lots of love, smiles and no regrets! 

Fresh, new kitchen chalkboard for the new year

Happy New Year! We love you all!