i know i’m late and it’s almost october now, but ohhhh augie-aug, you were SO MUCH FUN! [is it totally obnoxious that i gave this month a nickname?? because sometimes i just think i’m hilarious and you guys are probably rolling your eyes at me through your computer screen. sorry.]
i did love this month of 2016 though, in the way i love an old friend. it was still exciting [as it is to get together with your bff, always], yet comfortable, wonderful, easy. even though i was busy, it didn’t feel like a month that took a lot of effort, somehow. and i loved every minute of it! i visited noelle in denver [the best! photos are here and here if you haven’t seen them already], we went to my cousins’ lake house in indiana [a blast – you’ll see photos below], aaaaaand i got to visit my old stomping grounds in good ol’ college station, tejas. with lots of good stuff in between! so yeah, the month really couldn’t be beat. have a look:
{first off, these photos were not actually from august – they were from july, but while we’re talking about old friends… my friend karen posted them and i wanted to share them too! the first pic is from brittni’s rehearsal dinner and the second pic is from her wedding, both of which i posted photos from in this post. fun times!}
{also not in august, but i never posted this photo from the officer installation of the toastmasters group that i’m involved in. i’m VP of membership, and it’s been such a great way to improve my public speaking skills.}
{and i don’t think i ever posted these?! my cute parents during their anniversary month [may], and that photo below is a cheese/hors d’oeuvres plate that they made up for dinner one evening while they sat out by the fire table and sipped wine. i mean, tough life. ;) doesn’t that cheese plate look delicious though??}
{okay, now to ACTUAL august. i missed kristen’s birthday party so we had to make up for it! becca joined us at rapscallion and we celebrated with flowers, fun drinks [tiki tuesday, hello], good eats. such a fun time!}
{gorgeous flowers from a gorgeous friend}
{what to do with pretty flowers when you’re going out of town for 5 days? bathe in them, of course! this was the best idea i had all month!}
{mom and dad sent me these photos of shiner in his crate. he was soooo sleepy and he sure does love this safe spot to sleep! he was totally laid out like his luckydog brother used to sleep!}
{a sweet throwback: playing in the sandbox with poppy}
{at my cousins’ lakehouse! there’s allison out there paddleboarding.}
{mom and dad taking the jet ski out for a spin!}
{despite a couple random rain showers, we really had great luck with the weather this weekend.}
{thank you to aunt cindy and uncle jim for hosting us! it was such a blast. and on the right, the girl cousins. i can’t believe allie has started her freshman year of college! time sure flies.}
{love them}
{it was so great to see these two!}
{paddleboarding}
{wakeboarding what what}
{dad paddleboarding and ryan wakeboarding. ryan was really getting to be a pro there by the end of the weekend! allie and mike also wakeboarded, dad and i waterskiied, and uncle jim and mike kneeboarded. so much fun!}
{uncle jim makes the best caipirinhas. and we ate at a restaurant on the lake one night – check out those scallops!}
{watching tennis on the ipad. there’s no TV at the lakehouse which i actually LOVE. who needs TV when there’s so much to do on the lake?! but in dire circumstances, the ipad will function as a TV in a pinch.} ;)
{family. i heart them.}
{nama’s grandchildren [all grown up!]}
{all of us at dinner!}
{fun projects and pretty walls. i took this while i was making the frozen tour video that i posted here!}
{my friend becca had gotten a couple tickets for the rangers game in the 5th row, and she invited me to go. soooo fun! it was unusually cool too – the weather couldn’t have been better.}
{go rangers!}
{we made some friends…}
{she’s the best! thank you for inviting me, becca!}
{home sweet home.}
{and just some cute homes in the neighborhood. this last one’s lights are a little haphazard and i kinda love it.}
{mike and i always love getting to see our littlest brother! this was just before mom said, “okay, get him off the table.” but getting up there was allllllll his idea. give him an inch and he’ll take a mile!} ;)
{as you can probably tell, he was pretty much a magnet to mike’s lap all day!}
{don’t tell shiner this, but when dad saw that picture on the left, he said, “don’t post that one on facebook – he doesn’t look very handsome in that one!” which i thought was hilarious for some reason. so what did i do? posted it. ;) because how could you not smile [or LOL, in my case] when you see that smile of his?! aaaand on the right, one sunday morning. i love my cake and coffee and scripture-reading kind of mornings.}
{i had mike over for dinner one evening [a little summer weeknight brother-sister date!] and we had chilled peach prosecco soup and sandwiches with toasted naan bread, chive cream cheese, rotisserie chicken, jalapeño bacon, spinach, and tomato. and rosé.}
{just a little snapshot in time} ;)
{i went down to college station for a few days because i was taking a beef 101 course down there for work [WHOOP!]. first of all, i’d been waiting to take this course for over a year, literally – it’s such a popular class for industry members that you get put on a waiting list, and i was on that waiting list for soooo long. but i was so glad that i finally got to go because it was an AMAZING course. secondly, when i got to college station on this trip, i had just enough time to go for a run to the bonfire memorial. i ran past tent sales [the best for buying aggie everything!], blue baker [where we’d dress in all blue with our fish camp to eat for free], atami [where i remember going on a DATE! a rare occurrence in college!], and cenare [that italian place we used to eat at when my parents were in town], and on this evening, i felt just like i was back in college again, “howdying” every person who walked by. but when i got to this spot, it was like entering the pearly gates.}
{i was so glad to be back.}
{this walk. you know, aggieland has always done golden hour well.}
{damn right there is.}
{there is something magical about this place.}
{may we never forget. 11/18/99.}
{so this was dinner the first night i got in. #YOLO …spoons used to be THE spot when it first opened up [and they were still doing good business now]. i have lots and lots of memories here, and i’m pretty sure we went at least 3 times a week for an entire year. i had the sophomore 10 to prove it.} ;)
{beef 101. because the knowledge of how your food ended up on your plate is underrated.}
{while i like chicken, i eat it only occasionally because there are many other things i like more. but there is NOTHING like the rotisserie chicken tacos at fuego in college station [which i always order with guac, of course]. it was so good to be back and have one – they were as good as i remembered.}
{kyle field, standing tall and pretty.}
{the last night of beef 101, we had dinner out in the country.}
{this was such a cute place!}
{those texas sunsets, man.}
{our favorite little mischief maker looks like such a sweet little cherub in this picture!!} ;)
{on the left, culinary school is in full swing so it’s downtown for me two nights a week. and on the right, a picture that my parents had sent me of their lovely porch. it will always be one of our favorite spots!}
{i love my little mexi dress, just like i loved the one i had when i was little!}
{some days you just hit the jackpot. and on this day i hit it twice. a bunch of stuff from dillard’s and anthropologie, alllllllll on major sale! the funniest thing was that everything i bought on this shopping trip followed one of two themes. here i have the red, white, and blue thing going on…}
{…and here we have a personal favorite, the bright-colored floral print. as i mentioned, JACKPOT.}
{this is a dream dress. i think it might be my spirit animal.}
{these sunsets just get me! i can’t not take a picture!}
{first off, one evening i decided that i was in the mood for pizza. i didn’t have time to make the crust so i bought a stone-baked crust, brushed it with salted olive oil mixed with crushed fresh garlic, added my own concoction of tomato sauce, and topped it with shredded mozz, shredded parm, sweet italian sausage, golden sunburst tomatoes, and – because it’s that time of year – hatch chiles! it’s been a while since i had a hatch chile, but i carefully tested its spice level before adding it to the pizza. i swear, it had to be a 0-50 on the scoville scale [sorry for being a nerd, but that’s foodspeak for NOT spicy!! like a green bell pepper!]. anyway, i was a bit surprised, but it was still a great pizza topping. i couple days later, i decided to make another one, because i still had all the leftovers in my fridge [including another hatch chile], and this time i took an enormous chunk of the chile and ate it the way you’d eat a big fat strip of raw bell pepper… and almost died. let’s just say that there’s a vast amount of inconsistency between the spice levels of individual hatch chiles. several glasses of milk later, my lips and tongue were still on fire. that was also one of the spiciest pizzas that i’ve ever eaten. so yeah. don’t underestimate the hatch – it will sneak up on you when you least expect it. aaaaaaaand not to write a book, but on the right, boneless short ribs braised in red wine with buttered parmesan fettuccine and sautéed spinach with garlic. it was only afterward that i realized that the place mat looks just like the noodles that i was serving. #oops #presentationfail}
{i go back to my same adage: when i actually go out, it must be documented.}
{i met mike and priscilla for drinks at parliament, one of my favorite bars in the neighborhood. my first drink was the dragon fly – sooo good.}
{the lineup. not bad!}
{and then i had a drink in which champagne was poured over cotton candy, lemon pearls, and lemon peel. watch the progression…}
{…so fun!}
{one wednesday, my coworkers and i left the office at noon to go to a rangers game! it was a little hotter than we anticipated, so we spent most of the innings watching the game from the [air-conditioned] bar, but it was a blast. going to a rangers game > being at the office, any day.}
and that was the month in a nutshell! thx 4 the gr8 time, augz. ;)