sparkle nails.

[Essie - 'French Affair' and OPI - 'Bring on the Bling'.]

I decided I needed some pep in my step after this week. I feel like I’ve been going non-stop all week, so when I got home from work yesterday, I sat myself down and painted my nails. I’ve been seeing all over, this new thing with painting one nail a different color than the rest – specifically one nail in sparkles. I have all of these fun OPI sparkle colors that my friend, Tricia, gave me for my birthday last year. Ahh, that reminds me of what fun my birthday was last year. Tricia’s other present was that she flew out from Orange County for the weekend – something I didn’t know she had planned until she showed up outside my dressing room in Madewell. I’ll have to post the video later. Complete shock. Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting another present after that, but in true Tricia form, she had a lovely box with an incredible homemade bow waiting for me as well. We had talked about these OPI sparkle colors a few days before and I was so excited to see she had found them. As I’ve mentioned before, I try to dress on the conservative side for work, so I haven’t used these fun colors very often. But I figured this might be the perfect opportunity. Just enough of a hint to be fun, but not so overpowering that it ends up being the only thing my boss looks at. That and I decided to do it on a Friday, so a large part of the time it’ll be on will be during the weekend. I know, I’m way over-thinking this. Welcome to my life.

I think it’s a pretty fun alternative to a normal manicure – especially during the summer. As I mentioned here, why not take advantage of some fun summer colors? What do you think? Would you do it?

Oh, and I also got to see my favorite girl last night. We had a really fun dinner at Maggianos with my sister and brother-in-law. And now have leftovers for days. Yum. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

number three.

Does anyone else out there have a favorite number? Better yet, does anyone have a slight obsession with a number? Because I do. I’m not actually sure when it started, but for as long as I can remember, my favorite number has been the number three. I can remember playing the “I’m thinking of a number…” game and ALWAYS choosing three. At the time, I wasn’t really thinking of the context of the actual number. As I got older and started thinking about it, the number three became a lot more special to me. There are three girls in my family and I am the third child – the baby (as I’m reminded, quite often). Not only that, but my mom is the baby of three in her family as well. My grandma is also the baby of her family, but there were more than three. Still, I like the pattern. So my favorite number has become a special number and I’ve begun incorporating it into all different aspects of my life, just for fun. Here are some examples of things I’ve incorporated into my apartment:

 [Throw pillow.]

[Spray painted #3 used in a collage.]

Most recently, I stumbled upon something that is just too perfect for words. While perusing some of the blogs I read daily, I came across a favorite blog list on one of my favorite blogs. I started clicking on a few just to see what some of them were like. I’m pretty sure it was fate that I clicked on this one. This blog was talking about something called CODE rings. Of course, the one pictured on the blog was a #4, but I clicked on the link to the website just the same. Hoping. To my delight, they also have a #3. I think it is just precious. I’ve never been one for flashy jewelry, so the simplicity stood out first. I am, however, a sucker for meaningful jewelry. I’ve worn the same James Avery ring every day since June 20, 2003 when my sister gave it to me at the rehearsal dinner the night before her wedding. I’ve also worn the Tiffany’s ‘C’ she gave me for my high school graduation in 2006, religiously. Case in point – I think I’m going to start saving up for this little number (pun definitely intended). Anyone else have a quirky obsession with a number? Or any sort of collection?

[I want.]

[My little flower.]

horseshoe bay.

On Saturday of this past weekend, I drove out to Horseshoe Bay to hang out with my friend Kelsie and some other friends that drove down from Dallas for the weekend. They stayed at the Marriott at Horseshoe Bay, which is really nice. I have heard about Horseshoe Bay, but had never actually been. It’s just a little bit outside of Marble Falls – home of the famous Bluebonnet Café. Their pies are to die for. And the pot roast. Oh man, I might need to go out there soon and do a post on that. Moving on – like I said, I had never been to Horseshoe Bay, so I really didn’t know what to expect or have any expectations. I don’t think it would have mattered either way, because I thought it was a great place. We went over to another side of the resort to a pool that was right by the lake where there was also a little beach area and steps to get into the lake. Besides the $11 Pina Colada and the major sunburn on my neck/shoulder, it was a really good, relaxing day. Kelsie’s mom (my 2nd mom, her aunt and her cousin were also out there, so it was definitely a girls’ weekend. My kind of fun Saturday. I didn’t get my camera out too much, since I was a little worried about spilled drinks and large bodies of water, but I still got some fun shots. Check back later for a post about a few of my favorite things – this time, my obsession with the number three. Intrigued, aren’t you?

[Oh, Lulu.]

[Kelsie and Kristen.]

[Obviously related.]

[The girls.]

[Cannon balls.]

monday night meal.

So tonight, I ended up working late and wasn't in the mood to do much cooking. I had master plans earlier in the day to stop and get stuff to make chicken parmesan, but that might have to wait for a while. However, I did have some cheese tortellini in the fridge, so I just stopped and got some garlic bread, stuff for a salad and some wine. Easy enough. It turned out really well, which is no surprise since I put so much effort into it (sarcasm - noted). Either way, it was a nice meal to enjoy while watching our Monday night shows. I'll be back later for a weekend update and some other things I've been thinking about. Let's see if I can post something every day this week. Here's to trying! I hope everyone's week is off to a great start. 

cedar park farms to market.

On Saturday morning this past weekend, Landree and I went to the Cedar Park Farmers' Market in the Lakeline Mall parking lot. After we made a nostalgic trek through the mall to find an ATM (we were pretty sad that Limited Too is gone), we were in business to explore the market. It was a pretty compact market, but there were some pretty good options. Landree got some eggplant, hummus and some kind of Indian treats (Naan and something else that looked like a quesadilla). I got tomatoes. I guess I had some trouble committing to the market. We both decided we need to have a better plan in mind of what we want/need beforehand. We did get some lavender lemonade that was really good. Overall, it was a fun time, but I still want to try some of the other markets around town. San Diego, you ruined me.

milk and cookies.

Tonight was just one of those feel good nights. I stopped at the store on the way home, because I was craving a good home-made sandwich. So H and I had a quick dinner and then headed downstairs to the Apple store, because he had decided to get a new computer. It was a quick trip since he pretty much already knew what he wanted. By the way, I'm definitely keeping my student ID indefinitely. Or at least until I end up needing a new computer. Apple always seems to have a student promotion going on. Anyways, then we stopped by Starbucks for some shaken iced tea lemonade and headed up to my place to hang out and catch up on some shows. We had a lot of fun just hanging out and catching up on each other's weeks (he was back home in San Diego last week). At around 8:30, I decided to make up some cookies (straight from the package, of course). They turned out lovely (duh) and we had them with some nice cold milk. I don't know what it is about "fresh"out of the oven cookies that just make you feel good - whether they're store bought or not. Of course, I started to get really hyper right around the time H started to get ready to leave - sugar high, anyone? But still, worth it. I hope everyone had a nice night. Time for this girl to get some sleep. I'll be back tomorrow for a Farmers' Market update.

  [Yes, I realize that the milk is in juice glasses. And 

next to wine and salt. Still working on my picture staging...]

san antonio for the day.

                 [Baby Girl ready for the River Walk.]                         [Walking with Daddy.]

                                [Pretty church.]                        [Cousin Jared with his baby girl.]

                       [Kisses from Mackenzie.]                                          [Precious little one.]

                     [Cute little family (minus 2).]                              [Uncle Zack and Mackenzie.]

                          [Cousins and babies.]                                    [Emily Sue and Trynn Olivia.]

[Don't worry, there's an arm behind her.]

On Saturday, I tagged along with my sister and brother-in-law (and baby girl!) down to San Antonio for the afternoon. My cousin, Jared, graduated from Air Force Academy down there and was able to hang out away from the base for the day, so some of the family was down there. We met up with them and after some group pictures, I was past the point of being irritable due to hunger (Sorry, family members) so we walked down the River Walk a little ways and stopped at a restaurant called Cafe Ole. It was a nice meal of chips, queso and fajitas. Even though today's weather was extremely muggy, the River Walk was actually quite enjoyable. However, after a day of sweating profusely and being stuck in a seat most of the time, Trynn had had enough. We ended up making the drive back up to Austin right after we ate. Nonetheless, it was a nice afternoon of cousins and babies. Congratulations to Jared and I wish them the best in the next few months before he can go home to Arizona for good. He met his new baby girl for the first time this weekend and I'm sure he's ready to get home to his whole family. 

wine night.

If you know me, you know I'm more of a stay in and watch a movie type of person than the going out type on a Friday night. Therefore, this Friday night was exceptional in my opinion. My friend Landree and I had a pretty serious discussion about money and being grown-ups, so our thoughts of dinner and drinks suddenly seemed frivolous. We decided instead to indulge on a hefty sampling of leftovers I had from a family dinner at Maggianos on Thursday night. We paired this with a bottle of my favorite wine - Francis Coppola Claret. We also watched the movie Hall Pass. I hope that no one reading this has seen or plans on seeing it. We both were extremely unimpressed. Other than the sub-par movie, the night was a great combination of food, wine and conversation. Oh, and by the way, Landree recently moved into the same apartment complex as me, so I see many more nights like this in our future. Welcome to the neighborhood, Lan! Today was a fun-filled day as well. Look for an update soon.

san diego whirlwind.

This weekend I went to San Diego for the first time since I graduated last May. Where did this year go? Crazy. Anyways, it was a wonderful, whirlwind of a weekend of being a tourist, seeing friends and family and dancing, lots of dancing. We flew in Thursday night (made an In-N-Out run on the way back from the airport - duh), hung out downtown and on campus Friday, rehearsal dinner Friday night, wedding on Saturday, then saw Grandma and other family on Sunday and spent the afternoon on the beach in Newport. Pretty great. And I enjoyed taking pictures with my new toy, of course.