One of my favorite pastimes

These photos simply make me smile! Ever since I can remember, I have just loved being outside in the sunshine. There's nothing quite as therapeutic and relaxing. The first photo was taken in College Station at Research Park. Tyler and I frequented that park all the time and let Snoop play with his friends (which sometimes involved getting in the water). This immediately takes me back to a very happy time, when things were sweet and simple.

Last weekend, we headed out to a park nearby with our boy and a picnic blanket. We enjoyed watching people interact, looking at the sky and soaking up the rays. This is what life's all about in my opinion! It's such a simple reminder that when I'm always looking for life to just slow down a bit so I can kick back and enjoy, all I really have to do is slow down a little bit :) I hope to visit the park a lot more this spring!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, friends! I hope you are all enjoying fun and creative ways to celebrate with the ones you love. Tyler and I did an early celebration this weekend. He treated me to a homemade dinner and anyone who has ever had the privilege of enjoying Tyler's cooking, knows what a great chef he is. I appreciate a homemade meal a-la Tyler over a 3 course meal at a fancy restaurant any day :) There is something incredibly romantic about it.

So, Tyler fixed braised short ribs, jicama slaw and green beans. As always, he displayed them all beautifully, even shaping the slaw into a heart (I mean really, who is this guy?!) For dessert, I made Martha Stewart's molten bittersweet-chocolate cakes. They were extremely easy to make and delicious with a cold glass of milk.

I knew Tyler had been busy working on something in the garage and I really had no idea what he was up to. Yesterday he presented me with my Valentine's gift (pictured above). He came up with the idea on his own (a little jealous of his creative abilities) and gave me 2 canvas prints with our sweet pets on them. We love our little family where we are right now, and this gift could not have been more thoughtful. I still have to decide where to display them but I'm thinking they will be on two tiny easels somewhere special in our home.

This was definitely a memorable Valentine's Day for me. I'm very blessed and so thankful everyday for a fun and love-filled marriage!

Our Kitchen Makeover

It's amazing what just a $25 can of paint can do to change the look of a room! The first image shows our kitchen the way it looked up until about a week ago. I really wanted a fresh, bright look for our kitchen. I love spending time in this part of the house and I find this cheery look both calming and welcoming. We went with the withering moss color from Lowes and could not be happier with the finished product! I'm pretty sure we'll end up painting the entire interior of our home and now we're just one room closer :)

Ice Hits Houston

Last week, most of the country was affected by the huge arctic blast! Houston was no exception. Of course, snow was predicted but never happened. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the few cold, cozy days! Thankfully, our little home stood up to its' first ice storm. Tyler took a few photos in our backyard and I thought I'd share!

Here's our sweet boy in his backyard. This is his little spot, right under the magnolia tree. He really enjoyed all the chilly weather!

I love all these photos! Brrr, was it cold. Hope everyone is staying warm!

Kabobs

Well I don't know about you, but my taste buds get quite bored with the same types of meals over and over. I was ready to break out of the mold of fish, chicken or pork (and repeat) this week. So, we tried our hands at making shish kabobs. Of course, I chose the coldest night so far this winter for grilling, but it was well worth it. Before putting the kabobs together, I was sure to soak the skewers for at least 20 minutes in water. These are delicious and easy, and would be great to serve at a cookout!

Teriyaki Sirloin Kabobs
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 T honey
1 T minced crystallized ginger (I used ground)
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 1/2 lbs sirloin beef, cubed
1 fresh pineapple. peeled and cubed (I used 1 can of pineapple chunks)
2 Gala or Golden Delicious apples, cubed
(We also added chunks of yellow onion)
3 cups steamed rice

Combine soy sauce, vinegar, oil, honey, ginger and garlic in a blender (I just hand mixed). Pour into a sealable plastic bag. Add beef and marinate at room temperature 30 minutes or in refrigerator overnight. (I suggest marinating overnight--the flavor was delicious)

Drain beef, reserving marinade. Skewer beef alternatively with pineapple and apple cubes (we also added the onion). Brush kabobs with marinade and grill 15 to 20 minutes, depending on desired doneness. Baste often with marinade. Serve with steamed rice.

Serves 6. Yum!

My Weekend Project

This weekend I took on the project of refinishing this headboard I found at Home Goods a while back! I wanted the headboard to go well with these fabulous frames I got from Pottery Barn for my birthday. The first 2 photos show the headboard before I refinished it. It looked great but wasn't as clean, white and antique looking as I wanted.

This process was very easy and can give a facelift to any piece of furniture. First, I sanded the headboard and removed any dust with tack cloth. Then I applied 2 generous coats of paint and let it dry completely. Finally, I used coarse-grit sandpaper to sand the edges and face of the headboard to give it more of a worn, antique look. It was nice to find this piece for a great price and turn it into exactly what I wanted :) Aside from waiting for the paint to dry, the whole project probably took an hour. Fun stuff! I love the finished product and can't wait to feature all the pieces together in one of the bedrooms!

Yes!!

2 years ago today, Tyler popped the big question! Through our 10 month engagement and now year of marriage, I have learned so much and have been richly blessed through my relationship with him. It is fun to think back on all the exciting milestones we've experienced together!

Tyler and I looked at rings for our one year anniversary in November. I thought for sure he would propose on Christmas, only my favorite day of the entire year. Of course I should have known by then that Tyler isn't entirely predictable. Once the holiday passed, I was really dumbfounded and didn't know exactly what to expect. The end of January was approaching and Tyler told me that he wanted to take me out for a date on Saturday night. He was very secretive and of our friends, only told Whit his plans. She then created a great story to keep our close friends from making plans that evening. She told me her mom was coming in and wanted to do dinner with all the girls. This was a brilliant story but it almost backfired! I just about begged Tyler to just switch our date night by one night so that I could partake in the activities while Whit's mom was in town. Tyler had to fight hard and finally convinced me to keep our plans as is (so funny now!)

The evening started with dinner at Square One, a charming little restaurant in Downtown Bryan. This is also where we went on our first date. Dinner was great and the wine and conversation were flowing as usual. Afterwards, we were very quiet in the car (unlike us) and Tyler drove straight to Research Park (also where we spent our first date). We got out of the car and casually walked to a bridge where we'd shared many important talks before and while we were dating. Tyler told me that ever since our first talk there, if we were to have a relationship, it would be the forever kind. He told me he knew God put me in his life and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. Then he said "Will you marry me" and "can I put this on your finger?" (a very valid concern since we were standing on a bridge over water) I cried and cried and finally blurted out "YES!"

We headed from there back to my precious college house (shared with the best girls) and into a huge surprise! Everyone I loved most dearly was there and it was so touching. I will never forget the feeling! We rang in the celebration with champagne, hugs and good times. I knew from the second Tyler and I started dating that I wanted to marry him, and my dream was coming true :) Such a sweet memory!