i daresay april has been the best month of 2016 thus far! let me show you all the reasons why…
{the planning of a gallery wall! the finished wall can be seen in this post and the people who spent the day helping me make it are here.} :)
{sunroof weather + deep ellum brewing co with mike!}
{the same day we went to deep ellum brewing co, we also went to the deep ellum arts festival. it was such perfect weather for the festival!}
{i just love it when people paint things.}
{DIRK.}
{i loved getting to spend this day with my brother bear! it made me so happy.}
{also! we finally got to try monkey king noodle! pictured here are the hot spicy beef noodle soup and the famous soup dumplings…i really think noodles might just be my favorite thing on this whole planet.}
{check out this throwback of baby jessica, looking pretty bald, with my sweet parents!}
{…and you know there are more where that came from! ;) on the left, making cookies with poppy once upon a time ago, and on the right, in honor of siblings day…this was back when mike used to let me be the boss of him!! haha. but seriously, our friendship means more to me than he knows.}
{tried out a different hairstyle… i actually used to wear my hair like this when i was about eight! ha.}
{one random sunday i made myself a little non-alcohol cocktail! it was basically pineapple cucumber mint agua fresca: i pureed fresh pineapple, cucumber, and a few mint leaves, added some water and a tiny bit of sugar, plus some chia seeds. it was so fresh and delicious!}
{the main event: this guy has come swiftly into my life and i’m pretty dang thrilled about it. his name is philip and this was the first picture we ever took together! it seems like such a long time ago now…}
{on the left, just a little reminder to myself that my steep HOA fees are worth it… :) and on the right, some advice: when you wake up with crazy hair, pair with a bold printed skirt, a fun graphic tee, and feathers. suddenly the hair is no longer the center of attention!}
{tried a new sushi place in plano [randomly – i was running errands one evening and stopped in] and they had the most amazing salmon nigiri – almost as good as japan! also, that special sauce was sooo delish… anyway the name is escaping me right now but i will have to go back and let you guys know what it’s called…}
{blue and yellow}
{from my run}
{on the left, this is my happy face because it’s friday and i get to see philip! yes, he lives in another city [houston] and no, that’s not ideal…of course we wish we were in the same city…but i think we’re too happy at this point to care about that. :) and on the right, at the office: linda and i accidentally dress alike all the time! we didn’t document it the last time, but from now on…}
{philip brought me these gorgeous flowers… i’m a lucky girl. aaaaaand we went to wayward sons and i had the BEST cocktail ever… guess what it’s called?! yep, you guessed it – the wayward son, ha. but it is seriously fantastic: gilbey’s gin, yellow chartreuse, radish, cilantro, cucumber, jalapeño, and pepper flakes. might be my favorite cocktail in dallas.}
{a week later – a few blooms still holding on! and yes, i now own a glittery pizza purse, courtesy of the little girls’ section of j.crew. i’m a little obsessed with it.}
{muffins for my man} ;)
{i cut 5 inches off my hair! i really like it in these photos, but some days i miss my long hair. i’m such a creature of habit when it comes to hair and sometimes wish i wasn’t! the good news is that it grows quickly, but i’m still deciding whether i’m going to get this cut again next time…}
{this was such a fun night! we met up with some of phil’s friends and some of my friends at this cool burger place in fort worth called thurber mingus, and then went to see grady spencer and the work at the main street arts festival with my friends kristen and reese. we sipped on wine and danced in the streets… pretty much a dream of a night.}
{on the left: forgot the slices of limes for our glasses but oh well. i randomly made margaritas one night for mike and me with some U4RIK tequila that i got from someone at work, fresh lime juice, peach schnapps [because i didn’t have any triple sec], jalepeño, and cilantro from the garden. [i didn’t have the right glasses and these look kind of small, but we had two.] and thennnn there were brother-sister conversations outside on the terrace, which hold a special place in my heart. :) and on the right: dinner with a couple of my favorites, lauren and katlyn, at the latest spot in dallas, filament. i had TX wagyu beef tartare with smoked mayo, cured egg yolk, capers, herbs, and toast [which was actually these homemade thin, delicious crispy cracker-type things]. i’m telling you guys – don’t be scared of raw beef if it’s coming from a good source and being prepared the right way!}
{the thing about being long distance…is that you end up taking a lot of selfies!}
{i brought home some flank steaks from work so we grilled out at mike’s house one friday… and he definitely knows a thing or two about good beer!}
{this was a collaborative effort. the steak was double marinated and it was SO flavorful.}
{after dinner, we sat out on his balcony and watched many airplanes make their descent over uptown…}
{one morning i stepped outside my front door and noticed this little kitty drinking out of the bird bath!}
{having a glass of port around the fire table with my parents}
{this fluff muffin… that picture on the right is me after a workout… i was gross but shiner didn’t mind. ;) poor guy…}
{nama’s birthday is the last day of april, and i wanted to share one of my favorite memories with her… when i was 10, she took me on the trip of a lifetime to alaska, a place i had been wanting to go since first grade when we learned all about alaska in school. we went on a cruise; saw glaciers; panned for gold; got to see moose, reindeer, otters, whales, and grizzly bears catching salmon in the wild; discovered waterfalls in the mountains and named them after each other; and took a helicopter up to a snowy mountaintop and went dog sledding! here we are with our lead dogs, jazz and whitey. it was such a dream come true and i’m so lucky to have this woman in my life. happy birthday dearest nama and here’s to many more memories together!}
{we also celebrated mimi’s 80th birthday in april since she was going to be in florida on her actual birthday. here’s the table plus our little fella.}
{happy 80th birthday to mimi!}
{the life.}
{the lovely table.}
{and the food! it was delightful. sautéed scallops served on blue corn tortilla chips with cilantro and guac for hors d’oeuvres, and for dinner, dad made steaks!}
{this was pretty special.}
{and our silly boy. i can’t get over the way he’s sitting!!}
yep. best month ever. xoxo