Zoe

Zoe, the four-legged love of our lives.  Faithful companion and provider of daily comic relief.  Who knew you could love a little dog so much.  She is now 2 years and 4 months to the day.  Here is a picture of her the day we got her.

She was hardly over 2 pounds.  We fell fast for that sweet little face...how could you not!?!

 She was barely bigger than a blade of grass, but that never stopped her!

 She always sits so pretty for the camera.  I seriously think she KNOWS she's adorable. :-)

She's a city dog, through and through, but when we head back home for a visit she plays the part of country dog quite well.  You'd never know she didn't fit in, if it weren't for that adorable pink hoodie giving her away!

Nothing, not even a little bit of snow, gets in the way of her having a good time!

This is her with Sammy.  He plays the part of annoying little brother and all-time best furry friend.  He lives next door.  The two of them really are inseparable.

This is Geoffrey, faithful stuffed friend.  She really loves that giraffe!

Seriously, we love this little dog more than words can express!  That's our sweet little girl!

Baking, Baking, and More Baking

This past week I was able to do something I love to do...bake!  And boy, did I do some baking!  I made cookies and cupcakes for a wedding shower at my fiancée's school.  After several long nights in the kitchen, the end product was well worth the lack of sleep.

My first endeavor, was to make sugar cookies...cream cheese sugar cookies!  De-lish!!!  Probably my all-time favorite cookie.  I can't help but think back to Gran's kitchen when making sugar cookies.  The countless hours we spent in the kitchen together when I was a child laid the foundation for my love of baking.  Now, when I make sugar cookies for myself, this is how I prefer them...

Just like Gran and I used to make them...lot of sprinkles!!!  Now, sprinkles wasn't exactly the look I was going for, so I opted for royal icing and lots of hand piping.  While my poor hand was exhausted from decorating all these cookies, I was really proud of how they turned out.

Now, on to the cupcakes.  I decided that I wanted to make two kinds.  First, I made yellow cupcakes with buttercream icing piled on the top.  Since the colors for the wedding shower were white and purple, I tinted the icing to what I felt was the perfect shade of purple.

Finally, I finished it all off with my red velvet cupcakes, complete with cream cheese icing.  I decided to keep these simple and tie in the colors by adding fondant flowers to the top.

Seriously, the hard work I put in all week was well worth the reaction I got from the guest of honor.  Mission accomplished!

Just Another Manic Monday

As the weekend comes to a close and another Monday comes at ya full force, I can't help but always feel like...I wish it were Sunday...cause that's my fun day...but it's just another Manic Monday! Sorry for the 80's song reference (gotta love the Bangles), but you get where I'm going with this.  It just never feels like the weekend is long enough.  Long, short, quick, slow, ready, or not, Monday is here...again!

Despite it currently being Monday evening, as I look back at the days events up until now, it really has not been so Manic, even for a Monday.  While my day started off like a typical Monday (my first grade friends were a little rowdy at school today...I'm going to go ahead and blame that one on the weather), it's ended up as anything but.  Normally, I'm pretty much DONE when I get home from work on Mondays.  I usually try to cook something big on Sunday, just so I don't have to cook, or do much of anything for that matter, on Monday nights.  However, it is currently about 8:30 pm and I have cooked dinner (a pretty doggone good dinner), cleaned the kitchen, done a load of laundry, and am now currently filling you in on the details of my day.  You might want to write this down, take note or something, because I might not be this productive on a Monday for another hundred years!

Seriously, not too shabby for a Monday!!! (If I do say so myself)

A Tale of Two Caterers

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...actually it was simply just time to find a caterer.  With a week off for spring break, we headed down to the beach to find what we hoped would be the perfect menu for our wedding.

Our tale begins on the mainland, at one of our all-time favorite seafood restaurants.  We were greeted by Chenna, who lead us upstairs to the banquet room to begin our consultation out of the hustle and bustle of the main restaurant.  Once seated, we were given a special packet that held all the information regarding their menus and options, and boy were there options.  She even let us know that if we had something in mind that was not listed in the packet to just let her know and she would speak with the chef about getting it for us.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! REALLY!?!  This restaurant used to make the BEST, and I do mean the best, bread pudding, but they quit making it.  Next, we did exactly what Chenna told us to do and we asked if that awesome bread pudding could make a comeback at our wedding.  Did she seem put off by this question...absolutely not, she acted like it wouldn't be a problem, she'd just ask the chef.  Needless to say, all of this sounded beyond fantastic!  It was all falling into place.  The menu we liked was just as fitting, two seafood options...Grilled Tilapia with Nueces Creole sauce and Blue Lump Crab Cakes with a Cajun Remoulade.  For anyone who knows us, you couldn't have hand picked a more perfect meal.  Maybe finding a caterer wouldn't be so bad after all.  If the next place was half as good as this, the hard part would be making a decision.

As our tale continues, we head out to the island for our next stop.  This restaurant, while also another seafood establishment, could not have been more different than the other.  This one looked more like the lodging of an old sea captain with a pegged leg and parrot on his shoulder than it did a restaurant.  But then again, that's part of the allure of this place.  It's known as an island hangout, and boy is it just that!  Not to mention, this place has had fantastic write-ups in Texas Monthly about their food.  Honestly, I was really excited to see what they had to offer.  As we entered the place, we were greeted by Eddie (I don't know if that was really his name, but if I remember correctly, he looked like an Eddie to me, so Eddie it is!) who was standing behind a wooden barrel (maybe Captain Morgan accidently left a barrel of rum when he was booted out of his house).  We let Eddie know that we were there to see Patty about possibly catering our wedding.  Apparently Patty was in another meeting, so he led us to the bar to wait.  Eddie seemed like a nice enough fellow, he offered us drinks while we were waiting and tried to make small talk with us.  The conversation is as follows:  Eddie - "So, y'all getting married?  Is this your first?"  SERIOUSLY!  Did he really just ask if it was our first marriage?  Do we look old enough to have gone through 2 other marriages before wandering into this joint!?! While I was busy picking my chin up off the table and trying to make sense of the comment in my head, my fiancée replies back, "Yes, first and only."  As Eddie turns to leave, Peggy, the lady we were supposed to be meeting with, finally makes it to our table to begin the consult.  Lets just say the feeling was just not the same as it had been at the last restaurant.  First impressions are big to me.  You could say I'm looking for that Jerry Maguire moment, you know, the one where you had me at hello.  This lady was just not as warm and welcoming as Chenna was.  As excited as I was to learn about what they could offer, I quickly learned it was a "take it or leave it" kind of offer.  And where was my packet of menu options to take home to compare?  Well, it came in the form of a single page, plucked out of her binder, after being asked if she had something we could look at.  I'm not knocking the joint, its a spectacular place to hang out, eat, and kick back after a day on the beach.  It's just not exactly what we're looking for in a caterer.

Seriously, our experiences with the the two caterers couldn't have been more polar opposite!

Look at That View!

We found it!  After a FULL day of searching, we found the perfect location for our wedding!  I've always loved the idea of a beach wedding.  To me, there is just something about the sand, the surf, and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.  Maybe, that's because I grew up going to the beach every summer.  Maybe, the water just holds a special place in my heart. Well, whatever it is, the idea is now a reality.  The location is booked and now all I have to do is get everything in order.

Most girls dream about planning their wedding.  Most girls have their ideas of every portion of that day planned to the T, even before the love of their life pops the question.  Most girls just "know" what they want for that magical day.  Well...I've found out that I am NOT most girls!  I knew TWO things...I liked the idea of getting married on the beach and I knew who I wanted to officiate the wedding.  Check and check!  Beyond those two things, I've found that I am CLUELESS!  Really, what else do we need?!?  Well, according to everyone else, lots more!  I feel like I'm constantly being bombarded to answer questions about things that I haven't even thought about (or even care about).  By nature I'm a pretty laid back kind of gal, so I refuse to get in a tizzy about "my wedding cake" and a "champagne toast."  (quite frankly, I probably won't have either!)  Honestly, the more I think about it, I do NOT want a traditional, stuffy, what everyone else had kind of wedding.  I want to do things OUR way!  Simple, laid back, and stress-free!

My fiancée and I have always done things OUR way which has always worked wonderfully for us.  Quite frankly, that's what I cherish most about our relationship.  It's what makes us, well, us.  So, why stop now!?!  Well, apparently, planning a wedding seems to be throwing out a few reasons.  Sometimes, I think it would be easier to just give in (that, or just elope!).  Does the guest list really need to be that stressful?!?

Seriously, I love where I'm getting married, but what am I getting into with planning this wedding!?!

Sweating to the Oldies...Ha ha! Not really!

I did it.  I officially started excising again on Tuesday.  Yea me, right!?!

I made a New Year's resolution, as we all do, to begin exercising on a more regular basis.  It's not like I'm in a horrible state right now, but I'm getting married this summer, on a beach none the less, and I just want to be a little more "toned" than I am right now.  Not too much to ask for right?  Well, I guess its just been a little hard to get started.  I tend to always find excuses...I'm tired is usually at the top of that list (hey, give me a break, I work with 6 year olds all day)  Not to mention, I'm REALLY good at finding other things to do with my time besides exercising...playing with the dog, doing laundry, cooking dinner, lounging on the couch watching mindless TV, basically anything other than exercising.  So, I have to say I was really proud of myself when I finally did it Tuesday!  I popped in one of my many workout DVDs and let the "toning" begin!

The workout went fantastic, broke a good sweat, really life was good...UNTIL I woke up Wednesday morning.  I felt like an old person, moaning and groaning with every move!  Okay, honestly, I may be exaggerating a little here, but you get the picture.  Apparently I worked muscles that I hadn't worked in a long time!  But, I stuck with it.  When I got home from work, I hopped on our elliptical and went at it again.  I felt like, "Hey, I did it!  I'm back on the exercise bandwagon and it's rolling right along!  Two days in a ROW!!!"

That leaves us here at Day 3 on the Workout Wagon...
Would you believe I got distracted by working on my blog????  That's a good excuse right?  At least I'm writing about exercising...

Nope...not an excuse!  Time to put up or shut up.  I'm going to stop writing, post this, get off my tush, and hop on that elliptical like I should have done about an hour ago.

Seriously, why did I have to wait until 9:00 to get in gear!?!

Buttermilk Pie

I seriously LOVE buttermilk pie.  Quite frankly Royer's buttermilk pie is my absolute fave!!!  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Royer's Round Top Cafe, one word sums it up...AWESOME!  It's in a little town, in a little building, and when I say little, I mean the town and the restaurant are REALLY little, and they are famous for their pies.  Check them out sometime and find your own favorite.  Let me know what you think.

Well, I'm kinda getting off topic here.  My love of Royer's buttermilk pie leaves me here today...totally frustrated!  I really love baking, and I am always looking for new recipes to try.  Today's endeavor was not exactly a totally new recipe.  I've had the recipe for Royer's buttermilk pie, and I've made it before.  Turned out great, if I do say so myself!  Just one difference, I used a different pie crust when I made it, Ina Garten's Perfect Pie Crust to be exact.  (I seriously love Ina Garten, her recipes, her cookbooks, her show...but I'll save that for another post).  Ina's pie crust is great; however, it's just not the same soft, flaky, utterly irresistible pie crust you get with a Royer's pie.  So, in my quest to make my buttermilk pie "just right," I found the recipe for that "Royer's" crust I craved!  This is where my baking bliss took a turn.

First issue, I found two "authentic" recipes.  One recipe I found on the CBS Sunday Morning site.  They had done a segment on Royer's for their show and the recipe was there.  The other recipe I found was from Texas Monthly.  Again, they had the recipe in their article about the little cafe.  Silly me didn't look very closely for differences between the two.  Just figured they were both the same.  I would soon find out they were not.  First one I tried made me want to beat my head against a wall when I was attempting to roll it out.  It WOULD NOT stay together!  I told you their pie crusts were flaky...they're supposed to be flaky when baked, but this not staying together long enough to get in pie plate was ridiculous.  The stinking thing wouldn't roll out in one piece!  Scratch that!!! On to recipe number 2...  Ahhh, back to baking bliss!  Recipe two was much nicer to me.  Rolled out beautifully, looked great, life in the kitchen was good again!  I'm totally keeping recipe 2.

Now I was on to the easy part, the part I've done, making the actual buttermilk pie.  Piece of cake, right? Well...

Okay, this may seem a little weird, but I have 2 recipes for this pie as well.  The first recipe (the one I've made before) was copied out of the Royer's Cookbook.  The second recipe, I got off the Royer's website today.  Why look for another recipe when the one I made before worked just fine?  Well, it's called trying to please my fiancée.  He mentioned that the pie was really sweet last time, and compared to Royer's buttermilk pie, it honestly was.  It didn't bother me, but then again, I have the biggest sweet tooth ever!  In my book, the sweeter the better!  However, in my quest to be June Cleaver today, I decided to double check the recipe to see if the copied version got mis-copied.  The one difference I found in the recipes was the amount of sugar, so I went with the recipe with less sugar and figured all would be right with the world once my masterpiece came out of the oven...WRONG!!!

I don't know if the amount of sugar made that big of a difference, or I did something goofy without realizing it, but my pie was NOT right.  The texture was off, it was almost spongy like.  When I put the pie in the oven, my only thought was "I sure hope this crust turns out okay."  Never once did I think about the actual pie.  Maybe I should have, because that crust I was so worried about turned out picture perfect!  And as for that pie, well...tomorrow is another day and I still have all the ingredients to make it again!

Seriously, did this really need to be a 2 day project!?!