saturday evening.

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Jessica

{the “corn husker”}

{crawfish on the porch as an appetizer}

{sometimes blurry photos are the best ones}

{buffalo butt beer and buffalo burgers for dinner!}

{the best way to eat crawfish is wearing dad’s old t-shirts!}

{the grill master}

{there’s no shame in smooching the dog around here!}

{look-alikes?}

{buffalo burgers with swiss cheese, sauteed mushrooms, and garlic aioli; baked beans; deviled eggs; broccoli slaw; and corn on the cob}

{peach sour-cream pie that i made in culinary school}

though minus one, our family is alive again.

xoxo

23

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Jessica

yep, i’m alive.

and a year older, as it turns out!

the past month has been a whirlwind, and amidst the whirlwind was my 23rd birthday. it was on a friday, and weekend birthdays always feel like miracles, in my opinion. my thursday-sunday was filled with family, friends, and lots of sweets, as birthdays should be.

here are some bits and pieces from that weekend:

{dinner in uptown on thursday night with ashley and angelica}

{it was my first time at the common table and i fell in love}

{we started off with a pitcher of skittles sangria!}

{i had avocado on the “half shell” with sauteed lobster meat and chive oil. it. was. awesome.}

{i may be old now, but i still think birthdays are magical}

{carrot cake cup with stout anglaise}

{and on top of all the wonderful food, drinks, and company, there were birthday cards..}

{…and presents!}

{i’m so happy to have these beautiful women in my life!}

on friday, my actual birthday, i took a half day at work so that i could drive home and spend that afternoon with my parents and my brother who had come in for the weekend. all day long, i got showered with happy birthday emails from my work people, which was so sweet.

{ruthie brought me cake pops!}

then, a little while before i left work, i got a call from one of the receptionists saying that she had received a delivery for me. confused, i went down to the first floor, thinking, i don’t remember ordering any samples from suppliers to be delivered today... and when i got to the front desk, the receptionist handed me a huge brown paper bag. it was a dozen sprinkles cupcakes from thomas!! isn’t he just the greatest person ever?!

{chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet}

{i just love him.}

i drove home that afternoon, stopped by my church to say hi to my dad who was working our men’s club fish fry, then spent the afternoon catching up with my mom and brother. then the three of us went to the fish fry and ate dinner together, and it was SO tasty. my dad runs it, and they are known for their awesome fish. they make their own breading – it’s a secret recipe! if you’re ever in arlington, tx on friday during lent, you should stop by st. joe’s fish fry! :)

{me and my pretty mother}

{a blurry pic, but we’re so proud of our dad, the fish fry king! they raised the most money ever in the history of their fish fry on my birthday evening.}

{two peas in a pod}

{me and brother bear}

after dinner, we went over to celebrate at mimi and papa’s!

{i’m so lucky to have these two in my life}

{there were lots of lovely gifts…}

{…and a present-opening machine named lucky!}

{mom made a carrot cake, my favorite, with cream cheese frosting of course!}

{the two best parents i could ever ask for}

{getting ready to make a wish!}

{this is my dramatic “i’m pretending to blow out the candles because they didn’t get a picture when i actually blew them out” face}

{meanwhile, this little guy is completely exhausted from the adventures of the evening!}

i’m quite excited about my new ipad, which i’ll probably get at the end of march [i'm kind of waiting to see if there's a new one coming out...], and i got so many other wonderful gifts. the most important gift of all, though, was having our family together, especially since papa isn’t well.

late that evening, i was serenaded by angela and all my other favorite houston folks, and then they sent me this gem of a video:

Happy Birthday Video

i laugh every single time i watch it! makes me happy.

the next day, i went for a walk with mom and mike [dad had to leave for a trip], said goodbye to mike [he was headed back to austin], and then went shopping with mom and mimi. i went back to dallas that evening, and spent the rest of the weekend chilling out, enjoying some “me time,” and getting ready for the week.

{mom sent me home with this huge hunk of carrot cake that gave me dessert for 3 days! best cake ever!}

{i was way too excited for my new pair of house shoes from anthropologie. they were my gift to myself, although anthro pitched in 15% for my birthday. oh yeah, and they were already on sale – a steal!}

{i had sunday brunch with the girls at mama’s daughters’ diner}

oh, and random sidenote: my bday week was like the week of cinnamon rolls! i literally eat cinnamon rolls once or twice a year, and it just so happened that i had three opportunities to eat them on this week. [hello, gym!]

{i had one for breakfast at my parents’ house – my mom had gotten some for a school fundraiser. they were actually really tasty}

{this one hardly counts because it was angelica’s, but i had a bite!}

{then on monday, we made them in baking class! they unfortunately didn’t rise as much as we would have liked, but they still looked pretty.}

if one week out of the year has to be a cinnamon roll week, it might as well be your birthday week – that’s my philosophy! ;)

i appreciate all of the nice notes and birthday wishes from friends and family.

i’d say it was a pretty fabulous birthday! if only my papa was better and all of my dear friends were here to celebrate with me, it would have been perfect. <3 what a lovely time it was!

xoxo

let’s play a game…

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Jessica

…called instagram time travel.

all you have to do is look at my instagram photos which i’ve been meaning to post for months, and you’ll feel like you’re in a different season.

today, we’re going back to fall, starting when the weather was beautiful…

{tandem bikes and a foodie’s paradise}

{spending time on the balcony}

{home means country walks and good cookin’}

{our weekend trip to jefferson, tx}

{food truck day at work}

{traveling for work and a tasty whole foods lunch}

{i bet a quarter on the texas a&m vs. arkansas game with my sweet grandmother!}

{fun drinks in houston with friends}

{sophisticated mac ‘n cheese and saint arnold brewery}

{messy hair and dad’s homemade waffles}

{my first time at the belmont hotel and i fell in love}

{these two crack me up}

{my pretty place of worship, holy trinity catholic church}

{first wedding shower!}

{got to see an old friend and meet her boyfriend too!}

{fall at the office… colorful trees and halloween decorations}

{dallas traffic}

{i won a beertender at our work fall festival!}

{whoopie pies from the office bake sale… and lucky making a face}

{my little guitar named lucy and torchy’s tacos}

{fall at the village}

{grown-up birthday party and the cutest wine charms!}

{my boyfriend}

{thanksgiving potluck brunch at the office}

{homemade minestrone and blue moon winter sampler… i’m beginning to feel winter coming on…}

{the corner market is my favorite place ever}

…and we breezed right through fall, just like that.

now that we have cold, wet, winter weather at its finest, i’m going to go enjoy being cozy in my little apartment with hot tea and a book, but i hope you’re ready to play this game again soon!

xoxo

happy birthday mom & dad!

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Jessica

xoxo

my favorite spot.

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Jessica

see that little platform on the edge of that green cliff on the far right side of this photo?

that was quite possibly my favorite spot at the falls.

standing on that platform, with the water thundering down from high above and the spray soaking your body, fresh and cool and constant, you feel like you are in it. in the most glorious way possible. you get this burst of energy and want to run through the mist. my parents and brother felt it too – we were all giggling and going right up to the rail to be next to the roaring water. when you’re there, side by side with an enormous waterfall, you feel like a kid again.

here’s a picture of my parents at the edge of the rail:

what a natural wonder, those falls are.

a bicycle built for two

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Jessica

guess what my parents bought today??

a tandem bicycle.

they had rented one last year in cedarburg, wisconsin when they came to visit me in milwaukee (the picture was accidentally deleted by one of them so i never got to see it!)

…and a few weeks ago while vacationing on mackinac island.

i guess they quite enjoyed it, because today my mom texted me this morning at work saying that they were headed to richardson (north of dallas, not too far from where i work) to buy a tandem bike.

they stopped by my work after they purchased it to say hello.

my mom hugged me and my dad kissed me on the head and then slipped me a $20 bill all sneaky-like. he’s been known to do that. ;)

we talked just a bit, and then i went back to work and they headed home with their shiny new bike. next time i go home, i will not be leaving without pictures of them on it!!

they’re cute, those two.

golden birthday.

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Jessica

this past wednesday, february 22nd, i turned 22.

when i was a little girl, my grandmother told me about my golden birthday, my 22nd year. it seemed so far away at the time, and i felt such a thrill of excitement and wonder when i tried to picture where i would be and what i would be doing at that point in my life. i didn’t really understand what “golden” meant in that sense, but it sounded lovely, and it made me think of the eighth book of the Little House series, These Happy Golden Years, when Laura is courting Almanzo and gets married. i was convinced that all my dreams would come true, that it would be my happiest year of my life.

as i got older, the glamour of my golden birthday faded a little, but a small part of me still held on to the magic of it, optimistic that it would be a year of opportunities. it would be the year that i would graduate college, the year that i would [hopefully] find a job and move to a new city. it was bound to be memorable.

and so here i am! my birthday was probably one of my best ones yet. i actually got in a car accident on the way to the rec the night before my birthday, but luckily everyone was okay. i was worried that that would put a damper on my day, but it really put things in perspective for me – how many times had God saved me from harm in my lifetime? i’m lucky to have lived a happy 22 years.

and my friends and family made my birthday special as they always do.

on the sunday before my birthday, i went to waco to meet my parents and grandparents halfway. we had a fabulous lunch at a little restaurant called 1424. my family has always made birthdays a big deal, and of course they spoiled me rotten and showered me with the most thoughtful gifts. i got so many beautiful things for my apartment, some books which i can’t wait to read, a scarf, and lots of other little goodies that they knew i would love – magazines, strawberries, homemade mint brownies, flowers, kolaches from west, homemade carrot cake. my grandmother also gave me a special “golden birthday present” – a pinkie ring that was her mother’s. It’s has a flower with an amethyst, my birthstone, in the center. after lunch, we walked around by the brazos river, enjoying the beautiful weather and working off some of our big lunch. i took some photos for my photography project – it was fun to shoot somewhere different than the usual bryan-college station scene. i hadn’t seen my family since the christmas break, and we had a grand time catching up.

{my “golden birthday ring” – an amethyst ring of my great-grandma’s}

{house salad with raspberry vinaigrette}

{pretty little magazine holder from my parents filled with goodies}

{the best meal ever…fresh mussels, clams, scallops, and shrimp in yummy tomato sauce served over a bed of angel hair}

{a big “j” from Mimi}

{chocolate mousse cake…marbled sponge cake layered with chocolate mousse and white chocolate mousse and topped with chocolate ganache, whipped cream, and strawberries}

{love these people! too bad my brother couldn’t join us}

because this post is so long and because i have to get ready to go to a lab, more on my actual birthday and this weekend later!

Reflecting on 2011

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Jessica

Because my family didn’t get home from visiting relatives in Chicago until New Year’s Eve, it wasn’t until the last few days that I’ve had the chance to reflect on 2011 and the events that made it what it was. Here are a few things that stand out:

: : I turned 21 in February…finally legal!

{Celebration champagne with the parents!}

: : To celebrate my birthday, I went to Austin with some friends and experienced the famous – or infamous – 6th Street for the first time. It was wild, to say the least!

{Not pictured are two of my guy friends who came along as well}

: : My sweet brother Mike turned 18 years old in March – another milestone birthday.

{Happy Birthday to Brother Bear!}

: : I went to Scottsdale, AZ to my friend Laura’s beautiful family summer home in the desert with her parents and one of our other friends for Spring Break. We had an absolute blast!

{Enjoying the pool in our own little oasis!}

: : We watched our women’s basketball team BTHO Notre Dame to win the national championship this year! Those girls got some game! Way to go Aggies!

{Photo from SportsDayDFW, www.dallasnews.com}

: : My parents and grandparents made the trip to College Station to see me get my Aggie ring – and dunk it!

{Ring Dunk – Not pictured!!}

: : In May my parents celebrated their 25th anniversary – still going strong! Mike and I are so lucky to have them as role models.

{Still living happily ever after!}

: : Mike graduated from high school and had the privilege of speaking at his graduation ceremony to over a thousand people (I can’t help but brag on him a little!).

{Saying the Pledge of Allegiance.}

: : I moved to the fabulous city of Milwaukee for the summer…

{Gorgeous view}

…And interned with Taste of Home magazine as a food stylist! What a neat opportunity that was!

{The start of a big adventure}

: : My lovely Aunt Carol (or Aunt Whoa as we call her) married Greg in July (on the same day as both his and her birthday!) and is now living her fairytale romance. We couldn’t be happier for her.

{The adorable couple with my mom, the Maid of Honor, in the background.}

: : In August, I started my last fall semester at Texas A&M, while my brother started his first semester at University of Texas, my rival school! Luckily, we’ve managed to stay friends. ;)

{Hook ‘Em vs. Gig ‘Em!}

: : I learned how to roll sushi when I started working at How Do You Roll in September! Preparing sushi was awesome, but I have no photos of me in my work uniform, for a good reason! Let’s just say brown T-shirt + hair in a bun + brown baseball cap = not Jessica’s best look…haha.

: : I went to my first A&M vs. UT game, which happened to also be my last football game as a student and the last “Lonestar Showdown” game, at least for a while. It was bittersweet, and although we didn’t win, we played a great game.

{My friends and I tailgating before the game}

: : I’ve enjoyed my last holiday break as a college student…

{The fam}

…And received a pretty sweet Christmas gift from my wonderful family!

{Photos from my new Nikon coming soon!}

2011 was also the year that I discovered Pinterest, my laptop got a fresh start (thanks to my brother), and I started a blog! Best of all, through all of these memorable experiences and many, many other less memorable-yet-still-equally-important events, I did a lot of growing up this year. On a sadder note, my dad’s uncle passed away a couple weeks ago, thus explaining the chaos in our lives these past few weeks. He was eighty-nine years old and was not in pain, and we’re thankful that he lived a long and happy life. Events like these serve as reminders for us to live in the moment and savor each day, each year that we have.

Looking forward to 2012, I feel mixed emotions of excitement and anxiousness, of nostalgia and excitement. I have no idea what’s in store for me, no idea where I’ll be in six months, yet I have faith that wherever it is, it will be where I’m supposed to be. I’ll remember the good times I had with my friends and family, and I’ll venture out into the world to make new memories. That being said, I’m ready to enjoy today and see what the year has in store for me! Cheers to 2012!

The Parents Come to Milwaukee

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Jessica

In a perfect world I would be posting photograph after photograph of plates of gorgeous food that I’m making and/or eating, but given the fact that 1.) I have been living in a dorm room with minimal kitchen supplies and appliances for the summer and will be for the next week and half, and 2.) several of my food photos from when my parents were in town last week incidentally got deleted (I’m still pouting about losing the picture of bread smeared with the “flavor of the day” butter – mocha latte with caramel), this unfortunately will not be the case at the moment. Instead, I’ll post a few of the pictures from my parents’ visit that weren’t lost:

The stained glass window in my parents' room at the Washington Inn

A cute little shop in Cedarburg

The three of us at the Cheese Mart on the Milwaukee Food Tour

Texas Cheesehead! (Yes, that is a cheesehead cowboy hat.)

The one food pic that didn't get deleted - crab cakes with sweet corn salsa and spicy remoulade from Roots...SO good.

The lovely riverfront

Happy 25th Anniversary to my beautiful parents!

I had so much fun with them and feel very blessed to have them as parents!

A Bit of Sweet and Color

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Tag Archives: parents

saturday evening.

23

let’s play a game…

happy birthday mom & dad!

my favorite spot.

a bicycle built for two

golden birthday.

Reflecting on 2011

The Parents Come to Milwaukee