New Kids on The Block

No, not those New Kids on The Block...

These...

Kyle, Amanda, Me, Tim - circa January

Amanda & Kyle moved from Baytown to Houston at the end of May. They moved just minutes away from us - I was super excited! Technically, they are not new to the block since they have been in Houston since May, but I am still classified as a NEWlywed so they can still be the new kids!

We decided to get together with them on Saturday since we hadn't seen them since Lizzy's going away party. It seems like every time we get together we always go to Azuma or Lupe Tortilla so we opted for something different. We were all missing a little piece of Abilene & decided to find a hibachi grill similar to Fuji's...off to Tokyohana we went!

Waiting for our Table

Me & Tim

Amanda & Kyle

The girls showing off their skills!

I managed to polish off my entire plate - including the blessed fried rice! It was a delicious dinner with old friends.

After dinner we went to Volcano for some more fun & I ran into Allyson - a fellow co-worker & blogger! What fun!

Allyson & Me

All in all, it was a fun night out with the New Kids on The Block...can't wait for next time!

Lucy to Lady in 1 Hour

Can I just say that I LOVE, HEART, LOVE Scrub-a-Dub Dog Wash! If you live in Houston & want to wash or get your dog groomed - then Elizabeth is your girl. Here are a few of the reasons I highly recommend a doggie visit there...

A. They are SO sweet to the dogs.
B. They do not cage the dogs.
C. They always make your dog look they just came out of an Aveda salon.

If you will recall several posts ago, Stewart had his beauty shop appointment & I posted this picture of our Cavapoo, Lucy...

Too Wild to Groom

Well, last week Tim & I decided it was time for us to get our 4-month old puppy groomed. Tim was against it at first because Lucy has a beautiful coat (everyone tells us...we are just so proud), but after a few weeks our hippie puppy needed a cut!

She was off to Scrub-a-Dub on Saturday afternoon...

Before

When I walked into the salon to pick her up, this is what I saw (please brace yourself)...

WHAT??? Oh my gosh, I was about to faint!

What happened to our tomboy Cavapoo? She turned into a true Lady. I went on & on about the bows & how cute they were - Elizabeth finally said that she could put bows in Stewart's hair too, but she said my husband might not like that. Secretly, I wanted to tell her to go ahead and pencil that treatment in for Stewart too!

I'll have you know that 1 hour before Amanda & Kyle came over to go to dinner, she managed to take one bow off! So much for showing off my dainty Miss Priss - she was back to her WILD Cavapoo ways!

Raindrops on Roses & Whiskers on Kittens...

If you will please refer back to one of your favorite childhood movies…The Sound of Music. It is storming outside & the lovely Fräulein Maria is able to calm down the frightened children with a simple song, My Favorite Things.



This is NOT what our house looks like when it starts storming. How I wish Tim & I could just sing that song & make everything better! Stewart, our Pekingese, HATES any kind of storm - small or large. We can always tell when it is about to rain because he gets nervous, his eyes get big, he stares at the window, starts shaking & then panting. He loves to hide in tight spots…like a bookshelf (yes, he knocks everything out of the hiding spot before he settles in), a crevice in the closet, behind furniture, etc.


When a storm breaks out at night he sits on the bed - pants, licks his chops & watches the window for lightning. He hates lightning, but at the same time he is very intrigued by it. We try & make him snuggle with us, but it just doesn't do the trick - I think it makes him more nervous! So he tries to hide under the bed.




Clearly, there is not enough space for him to get under there, but somehow he does & gets stuck. Tim has to lift the bed up while I pull him out. Then he tries to get behind our dresser & gets stuck.




We finally found the perfect solution. The cabinet in our bathroom. We keep our beach towels/old towels in here - perfect for a dog bed. Last night Tim even made him a tent so he didn't have to see the lightning.





Stewart absolutely loves it & it is definitely one of his 'favorite things'…oh, he also loves 'brown paper packages tied up with strings'!

She's Finally a Tuggle!

On Friday afternoon I was off to Waco (sans Tim) for Amy & Matt's wedding. Tim was off in Mexico for some dove hunt - a work thing. So what's a girl to do, but make her BFF her wedding weekend date! Since Sarah Beth's boyfriend is deployed we agreed to accept the duty & be each others wedding date! It was such a fun weekend from start to finish!

Amy, Me & Matt

Amy is one of my greatest friends. My sister & her sister were sorority sisters before we got to Baylor. Sunni took me up to Amy's room to meet her during move-in day at Collins Dormitory. I'm not sure how Amy wasn't scared of my short haircut with a 'tail' that was flipped up, but she managed to say hello. Then I think our conversation consisted of 'Oh wow, you have a shower in your room - so lucky.' 'Yes, I am from Waco so I knew to request this room.' Ok, so that might not have been the exact conversation, but it is definitely close!

Sarah Beth lived on the same floor as Amy so we all became friends, then sorority sisters, then roomies for a year, then lifelong friends! Amy is such an amazing & encouraging friend & SO funny…she can always make me laugh! Amy was a bridesmaid in my wedding & then I was given the honor of standing as one of her bridesmaids on Saturday.

The weekend was jam packed with fun…

Friday

The L*ngerie Shower at Emmalie's house (so cute!)

Me & the Blushing Bride-to-Be

The Rehearsal

The Happy Couple

The Rehearsal Dinner at the Arboretum

Sarah Beth & Appetizer

SB, Taylor & Me

Sophomore Year 16F Roomies

Kristin, SB, Amy & Me

Hanging out at Crickets with the Bride & Groom

Taylor, Me, Bride & SB

Saturday

The Bridal Luncheon

Me, Amy, Lauren, Kristin, Taylor, Amy & SB

Our Table

My Seat - Yummy!

Muffins Anyone??

My Very Own Dessert!

After the Bridal Luncheon we made a stop at the Spirit Shop for new Baylor Shirts - Ava even got a new shirt from her Aunt! FYI, the house where Flash used to be is now called Harts & Crafts. Alicia lived on SB and Amy's floor freshman year. She opened up this store & it is SUPER CUTE. Must go when you visit Baylor!

Getting Ready for the Wedding

The Glowing Bride & Me

All Dressed & Ready to Go!

The Bride & Her Crew

The Reception

Bride's Cake

Groom's Cake - Thanks Matt!

Mashed Potato Martinis

Amy, SB & Me

Baylor Girls with their Dr. Pepper Floats

(If you didn't go to Baylor you wouldn't understand!)

May I have this dance?

Joe, watch out...she is 2 for 2!

Sunday

SB & I finish off the trip & eat at La Fiesta - a wonderful choice!

Here's to the Newlyweds…the wedding was BEAUTIFUL!

Happy Honeymoon...Love you Both!

Happy 1 Year to You!

It is official...Tim & I have been engaged for 1 year! Ok, ok so we got married during that year, but I love count downs & I love to remind Tim that today is our 1 year engagement anniversary. Anytime I mentioned it during these past weeks he would politely tell me that we are married so we actually haven't been engaged for 1 year & now we use our wedding date as the new count down. Hmm...I don't buy that! I will always remind Tim that this is the day we got engaged & when the day comes that we have been engaged for 50 years then I will still make him take me out to dinner!

I remember it like it was yesterday...

The night before, Tim made this bet that he would have the ring the next day & I was like yeah right...so then he started making these silly bets like 'If I have the ring tomorrow then you have to watch any football game I want to watch'...etc, etc. I agreed to ALL his bets because I knew he didn't have the ring. BUT, he kept going & going so I thought maybe something was up & I got kind of excited.

The next day was my last full day at PwC & I thought I would get off early, but I had to clean out my desk & finish up some returns so it was taking me longer than normal. I was trying to hurry because Tim & I had planned on doing something special to celebrate my last day at PwC (I wasn't sure if this was a decoy for celebrating after he proposed, but I didn't want to get my hopes up.) Anyway, Tim kept calling me & asking when I was going to leave - I was getting so annoyed because I was like if you stop calling then I can finish up here. So then he told me to call him when I got in my car. Gosh, very needy today!

I called him & he asked me what I wanted to do tonight. I was like aren't we going out to dinner to celebrate my last days at work. He replied with, 'I wanted to go workout & then we could just have those Smart Ones meals in the freezer.' My heart sunk...he is NEVER going to propose. I was really frustrated so I told him I would just see him when I got to his house. I was getting so upset...why can't he save enough money to buy the ring...he just bought UT football season tickets...he really should have set that money aside for my ring. I was having a BRATastic moment...oops!

As I got out of my car & walked up to his door there were 3 rose petals outside. I thought...hmm, someone dropped their trash. Then I thought about it & was like wait those are rose petals & if there are more rose petals when I open the door then I know my life is about to change. Sure enough I saw more...

When I walked in 'our song' was playing (we really don't have one, but we kind of made one up). Tim was standing there with 3 roses & I was shaking & tearing up. I walked over to him & he handed me...

One yellow rose for our friendship.

One white rose for God - the foundation of our relationship.

One red rose for our love.

He said lots of romantic stuff, but I can only remember the key words since I was in a dream world! Then he got down on one knee & asked me to be his wife! I said YES!

We celebrated with some champagne as we called our family & friends...then we had a romantic dinner at Rainbow Lodge. It was a night I will never forget & I will cherish forever!

I love you Tim...& Happy 1 Year Engagement Anniversary!

Dog Days of Summer

It was once again time for Stewart's 'summer cut' - which in Houston tends to be his everyday cut! So we were off to Scrub-A-Dub Dog Wash...

BEFORE - No, I don't crimp his ears!

AFTER - The sleek metro look.

Lucy - too wild to groom!

A rare moment - both dogs sharing a chair!