labor day weekend

little things, here and there, off my phone from the wonderfully long weekend..

3 starbucks trips, 2 of which were Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Fall is on it's way...

homemade garden sign, that looks weird with the filter

but, I promise, it's sort of cute :) 

ALSO, first Aggie game of the year!

prayful naps... 

judgmental Dakota stares.. 

breakfast in bed.

movie watching.

baby boy's new changing table -- craigslist find!

gettin' work done. I realize now, I totally shouldn't have done that

but the garage door was open, and the huge fan was on.. does that help?!

preg selfie..

and the grand finale

late night SPRINKLES ICECREAM run.

dallas faves :: brunch

Another, not so terribly interesting post... just to serve as some documentation for some of our favorite Dallas things... BRUNCH! at Smoke to be specific.

This has got to be our absolute favorite brunch place (I just remembered Jonathan's Oak Cliff shooooot and now, I cannot choose). It's close to the house, such a cool spot (Belmont Hotel), trivia while you wait, the best waiters, DELICIOUS foods and even better mimosas.

Blake looking a little heavy-eyed, and me with hair that probably hadn't been washed in about 4 days, a photo that's about par for the course. BUT, cheers to bottomless mimosas!

I mean cmon. Blueberry ricotta pancakes, side of bacon, and eggs benedict for the boy. This is the stuff I dream of.

Lake Texoma

warning:: you are about to see a ton of photos of Blake, Dakota, and me hanging around outside.

This past weekend, to celebrate yet another rotation ending, I tried to surprise Blake with a little camping trip. Something close to home, no stress, easy, just to get outside and away for a night.

I picked Eisenhower State Park on Lake Texoma. It was super luxurious compared to past tent camping experiences. 

Here was our weekend...

Man and his tent.

Our spot was super nice. Set back away from other sites, it felt like we were there alone... and we kinda were... February in the rain I suppose is not the most desirable time to camp. Bonus for us!

Tent went up. Shiners came out.

It drizzled for just a bit right when we got there, with that, plus the cool wind... it was time for a fire. Good thing I brought my burly outdoorsman to help.

say now, that's lookin' like a camp site.

what's camping without a little exploring...

For a dreary, cloudy day, the lake was still gorgeous. to me... I guess I'm not that hard to impress.

Blake pondering all the mysteries of life.

kinda pretty for Texas/Oklahoma, right?

 well deserved shiner after exerting all that energy. 

 Blake loves a good fire. 

Wouldn't life be just fine with an hour or two of mandatory fire sittin' every week? just me?

 husband/wife camping time!

turns into fire dancing/enchantment time? .. I might be on fire here.

 our poor princess wasn't the biggest fan of the whole idea.

she lives a sheltered life. 

dinner time!

  

 We watched this sucker burn down for hours... while we listened to Blake's favorite rap songs, chatted about life, what's next, and other such nonsense. 

We climbed into bed, and watched Argo on the iPad. Luxurious I tell you.

Thunderstorms hit that night, and other than Dakota being terrified out of her mind, it was cozy and sort of peaceful. and cold.

 Morning came super early. It always does when your camping, and I secretly like it. 

There are few better things than a little french press out of a jetboil in the trunk of your car.  

last photo of the weekend. 

 goodbye tent, until next time...

our first snow!

 

sorry Dallas, that I'm from Houston and that the wonder of snow still amazes me. 

(There have been some cranky office people around now that it's cold --cmon, it's Janurary!)

 

dog in the snow.

 

 dog using the restroom in the snow.

   

 it's just too pretty.

 

 thank you Jesus, and next time could we have a bit more, maybe enough to close the roads to work? 

winky face.

be our guest, please :)

Welcome to our most functional, least decorated room. This room serves so many purposes. Number one, Blake's study. Number two, guest bedroom. Number three, my "closet" and number four, storage room. I almost forget, a laundry room too. Phew! I feel tired just writing that all out.

This room is off our hallway directly to the right. Those windows face the backyard, which I love. Right now, I can open the blinds and see all of the fallen leaves and the trees changing colors, it's quite beautiful. (and, this morning, a bit of snow! how fun!)

Here is Blake's office. It's close quarters around here. There's just enough room to scoot the chair back and climb on in.

Yes, that's a periodic table. And, the bookcase Blake built.

As you stand in the doorway and pivot slightly to your right, you find yourself in the guest bedroom, welcome! Stay a while..

I love this iron bed. It's been in my family forever.

One more tiny pivot right and you're in my closet! Now that I see this in a picture, it's very lack luster indeed. This tiny old house has two tiny closets, so Blake has the one in the master, and I have this one. Man, I miss that huge walk-in closet from our apartment.

I feel like I'm to the point where I don't want to do anything more in this house. I thought paint would help, but turns out, the landlord doesn't want us painting anything.. womp womp.

We still have a year and a half left in this house, but then again, it's only a year and half! So, this room, and it's paint colors will just have to do! :)

in the neighborhood..

I've fallen pretty hard for our little neighborhood. Last night was the Bishop Art District's Wine Walk.

$10 gets you a glass, then your night is filled with boutique shopping while you sip different wines from each store. I had so much fun with my bff's and their hubs, though I missed my little studious husband.  We ended the night right with pies (Chai buttermilk - hello!) and warm mulled wine.

You gotta love that camera on the 3GS . I apologize.