Category: Travel

A Very Full-Bellied Weekend in NYC Part I

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WHAT an amazing weekend. Just the best. So lucky that the weather was pretty much as good as it could possibly be in NYC the whole time we were there. Every time I visit I love it more and all that sunshine didn’t hurt one bit.

THURSDAY

We got in fairly late and went straight to Kim’s apartment in the Lower East Side. I figured we would catch up and go to bed. Kim had other ideas. We stayed out until FOUR. AM. That’s a thing in NYC apparently. I could not hang if that were something that happened on a regular basis. But we had a lot of fun, got to meet some of her chef friends, and went to some great bars. My fav was Pianos because you essentially got 3 bars in one and it was in an old Piano store. Fun times.

     

SATURDAY

We slept until 11. Because 4 AM. Then headed to Kim’s restaurant, DBGB, for our first indulgent meal of many. And Bloody Mary’s. Because 4 AM. Kim sent us 5 desserts, which we managed to get through a little too well. They were incredible. I loveddd the popcorn brittle and the peanut butter ice cream. And the touches on the sundaes were so thoughtful and added a lot to each bite. And baked alaskas are just amazing- so much time/effort to make and so worth it.

 

   

 

Afterwards, with stomachs so full we could barely move, we went up to The Frick Collection. Dan has been to this museum before and I’ve been dying to visit since he told me about it. I had high expectations and they were exceeded. It’s small, so it doesn’t take very long to get through, which I think is a big plus in a city with so much to see and do. It was a personal residence, built in the early 1900’s and filled with art. While building it, he had already planned to turn it into a museum upon his death. Can you imagine having works by Titian, Holbein, and Van Eyck just hanging in your home? Or having a half block facing Central Park?! It was unbelievable. They’ve done small additions since converting it to a museum, so everything isn’t original, but they did a great job. I especially loved the garden court and want one in my next home. K, Dan?

    

 We later met up with Alex & her gang to celebrate her birthday at the rooftop bar of the Gansevoort in the Meatpacking District. Swanky stuff. And you can’t beat the feeling of being up high in a big city. I always just want to inhale deeply to soak it in. Then we went over to Cookshop for dinner, where Dan and I split the special, a 30 day dry aged ribeye, and the best onion rings I’ve ever had. Chris brought an adorable cake and Al looked adorable blowing out the candles.

     

    

Post dinner, we waited in line to get into what appeared to be a coffee shop. Turns out, you go into the shop, then down into a basement for fancy cocktails at Bathtub Gin. You could actually make reservations. For a bar. Very cool place. We also meet up with Jordan, who has been living in NYC since we graduated college. So great to see her! It’s always a lot of fun to be with friends in a place that’s unexpected (even if it is her home).

THEN (my goodness we were still going somehow), after Kim got off work, we had a second dinner at Blue Ribbon and I ate one of the most delicious dishes of my life. It’s one of Kim’s favorite places so she ordered a few plates for us to split- Oysters, escargot, and oxtail. Just DIVINE! The reduction the escargot was in was perfect and the oxtail, oh my goodness. Scraping scrumptious goodness out of a bone. Sounds weird, I know, but I want more. And I will make a search of Houston for it.

     

And that was just one day. Going hard in the city.

More pretty weather pics to come. And I got fancy this time with my new iPhone camera and even edited all the pics using VSCOcam 😀

A Long Easter Weekend

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It was SO good to spend the long weekend at home. Can I call it that anymore? I haven’t even really lived in that house except for a few weeks at time, when home on college breaks since they moved into it after I was already at UT. Either way, it’s the same place I grew up, off the same road as before. And my sisters were there, so I think I can still call it home for a little longer. Maybe I’ll stop after I have my own kids.

I’m rambling, but it was a fantastic weekend filled with gorgeous blue skies, sunshine, lots of food & beer, and quality time with family.

FRIDAY>> Deep Ellum Arts Festival. Tara moved into this Dallas neighborhood for grad school and it’s changed immensely. Very cool area. Artsy and modern with older building mixed in. Only purchase was a hat for dad! None of us were prepared for the intense sun and all ended up with sunburns. Glad we got it because it’s supposed to rain for a week straight here in Houston. We all really enjoyed lunch at Brain Dead Brewing. Chips and salsa were to die for and the beer menu was really diverse. And Deep Ellum Brewery was awesome! Fun place to hang out, both inside and out.

Nanny nanny boo boo, I’m taller than you

Bar LOVED this. Obviously.

A 200 lb, 5 year old Dane, named Admiral

SATURDAY>> Shopping with the girls and lunch in Ft. Worth at The Bearded Lady. Also, Easter egg dying. What do you expect from a family of girls? We even got Dan to do a few 🙂

It wasn’t our best year…

Mine & Dan’s favorite eggs

SUNDAY>> Easter! A day of celebration. We went to the church I grew up in for the service and afterwards my mom made a delicious lunch. Home cooked food from your mom can’t be beat. And my mom still puts together a killer Easter basket. Then we headed down to Waco for Easter with Dan’s family. The little ones did great at their egg hunt- Ellie would intentionally skip eggs to only get the pink ones. And we got to make our pizza’s in Dan’s Aunt’s brick oven! So nice that all the cousins, aunts & uncles, and grandparents are within a couples hours of each other. Makes me wish all mine were closer!

The whole time we were decorating, Dan’s only concern was if he would get to make deviled eggs out of them. He got to.

Dan’s Easter “basket” from me.

Barley’s “I am not a horse” face

**Most photos from Tara’s camera

Viva La Tay

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Isn’t it great to spend time with old friends? Not only did we get to see Chels and Bobby in Austin for dinner on Friday, Taylor turns 25 TODAY(happy birthday!!!)  and we celebrated by joining her in San Antonio for a Fiesta. Let me tell you, when she throws a party, she throws a really, really great one. She even gave us adorable party favors. Hand painted bags with painted pottery shot glasses, tequila, and paper flower crowns (I’m getting to wear these a lot lately and I like it). The boys even had little maraca pins. So cute. And the weekend was packed!

I got to try Urban Taco! Peeps in Dallas have been raving about it. And while I thoroughly enjoyed the jalapeno margarita, I think I still like Torchy’s Tacos better. Maybe I’m biased from college in Austin. Then… it was archery time. Apparently Tay has always wanted to do this. I was a little apprehensive, but excited to try it. And it was totally awesome. We all channeled our inner Katniss. And Dan was really flipping good. Because he rocks at everything. Which I guess is a plus because if we were ever in a zombie apocalypse, he’d would be able to protect me. Until I ran out of contacts and my glasses broke. Then there’d be no saving me. Can you tell I started watching The Walking Dead?!

Next up, Alamo Brewery. The place itself was impressive. The design and outdoor space was top notch. However, they only had 3 beers on taps and one tap wasn’t working. It was also pretty pricey for beer served at a brewery ($6 a pint). Still worth it for the great atmosphere! Tay also busted open her pinata here! Or more like stabbed it to death. I thought we were all going to turn, but I think she was enjoying it too much 😉

After we refreshed at our hotel on the riverwalk, we hailed a RÍo Taxi to The Pearl. Our river captain had 2 master’s degrees and made fun of us the whole trip. And The Pearl, omg, very cool. It used to be a brewery and has now been converted into everything- restaurants, culinary school, apartments, shops. With a farmer’s market every weekend, I could definitely live there. We ate at Granary Brew & Cue, which was amazing. They brew their own beer and the BBQ was top notch. I decided to go with the Brisket Ramen and I slurped it up to the last drop. Divine.

Birthday girl on the rio taxi!

Champagne in cans!

Before we headed out Sunday morning, we had brunch at The Boiler House, which is actually in the old boiler room for the Pearl brewery.  It’s the same owners as Max’s Wine Dive, and the mac and cheese here lived up to expectation.

Weekend número dos of roadtrips is complete! On to Dallas tonight 😀

And out of the cold…

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We are back in Houston and were welcomed with the most lovely, fog/mist/humidity combination. It creeped up to 75 and I’m SO NOT READY for the heat. Dallas just got snow! Not fair Houston. Not. Fair.

Colorado, on the other hand, was just perfection. Even if we did have to drive through a bit of a snow storm from Denver > Steamboat Springs. The boys decided to upgrade us (for safety purposes) to a Tahoe and I’m so relieved they did. And now we all want Tahoes ASAP. For a group that doesn’t particularly care about cars, this says something. After a fairly grueling drive through the snow/ice (thanks Tim!!), we made it in around midnight. We rented a ski in/out condo through airbnb.com that was really comfortable and just the right spot to relax after a day on the slopes.

DAY 1: Learn to ski (again)

We rented our equipment at One Stop Ski Shop in downtown Steamboat and they were great- plus the 2 cute dogs didn’t hurt. Courtney and I made our way to ski school while the boys took on the black slopes. Since I had attempted skiing before and Dan had given me a good base, I wasn’t technically a beginner, so Courtney and I split up into different levels. I spent the day with a super sweet woman from Venezuela (where she has trouble finding milk and toilet paper at the store due to the political climate at the moment) and our instructor, Mike. He really helped me to understand the basics of skiing- especially where to put my weight and how to easily turn the skis. By the end of the day I was feeling confident.

That night we made some quick shopping trips to stock up for the weekend. LOTS of Powerade to prevent altitude sickness. In CO, the grocery store only sells 3.2 beer, so we had to run to the liquor store for REAL beer and wine. After shopping, we were too tired to cook so we went into town to dine at Mahogany Ridge. Man, it was packed! They brew their own beer and have a huge menu with lots of options. Great feel to the place and good food. The beer wasn’t my favorite, but it was refreshing and hit the spot.

The place we stayed (Storm Meadows) had the quickest, most efficient, *free* shuttle service I’ve ever seen and were always only a few minutes away after we placed a call. I would love to have that service here in Houston too 😀 We ended our first day with Battle of the Sexes (which continued on for the next couple of days). Turns out we are fairly evenly matched couples. Also, Dan makes a killer fire.

DAY 2: Practice makes perfect

It took me a while to warm up without the instructor, but eventually I was attempting to tackle some of the easier blues. I only cried twice and only had to be helped by a ski ambassador once. Thanks for being so patient, Dan! Our kids will be so lucky to have you as a teacher. Such an awesome strength that I’m continually striving for (and continually not succeeding).

We were all pretty sore, so we drove out to Strawberry Park Hot Springs that evening. Once again, thank goodness for the Tahoe. It was a pretty drive out there but as we got closer, it turned into a icy dirt road. So, so worth the drive. One of the coolest things ever and something I would highlyyy recommend. It’s so neat to be sitting in steaming hot springs in the middle of the mountains. Though I was pretty nervous about being in a swimsuit when the temperature was in the teens. It was a mad dash to de-cloth and re-cloth before and after. Sidenote: clothing optional at night (but I only saw one butt so I was safe). The boys actually jumped into the freezing part of the springs but there was no way we were joining them.

it was snowing a little bit.

Post springs bathroom selfie in my comfy vintage sweater. And ibuprofen. Lots of ibuprofen.

Chicken enchilada casserole for dinner and more battling of the sexes were the perfect end to a fantastic day.

DAY 3: Mastering Skiing

Double black diamonds for everyone!!

JK. Not sure those are ever in my future. But I was having a blast on the greens and blues. By the end of the ski day I didn’t want to get off the slopes! We were just about the last ones down. We even had ski patrol following us for a bit to make sure we were heading down. I then had the most delicious drink, the “snuggler” at Slopeside, and felt very happy (and relieved) that I had finally learned how to ski. Now the goal is to remember that feeling next year when I’m once again intimidated.

That night we gorged ourselves on Italian food at Mazzola’s (so charming and cozy in a basement-like setting) and lamented the fact that the ski trip was almost over.

DAY 4: Sad to leave

On our final morning, I ate the largest cinnamon roll I’d ever seen (we all shared) and a plate of biscuits and gravy. Thank you Winona’s, you were delicious. We also walked around downtown a bit and spent some time in the cutest bookstore, Off the Beaten Path (a tip from Jessica).

After the drive back to Denver we had a little time to kill before heading to the airport so we ended up at Great Divide Brewery, one of our favorites from our tour of Denver breweries last summer. I loved the seasonal belgian tripel, Orabelle, which we hadn’t gotten to try.

Our only good group picture… and of course it was captured exactly when the guy said cheese so I have a ridiculously goofy grin on my face. Cool.

Then it was back to the real world! This week has been so short. Basically just scrambling to catch on work and laundry before leaving town again! Cheers to Steamboat Springs and Tim & Courtney for putting up with us on the trip!

And apologies for the crazy long post… You now get a cute Barley pic.

Happy face after we got back!

Into the Cold

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We are off to Steamboat Springs, CO! Below freezing temps and lots of snow, here we come. Hopefully taking ski school the first day will set me on the right track and I won’t end up crying on top of the mountain. Wish me luck!

 Packing cold weather clothes takes up a lot more space. How do northerners do this??

p.s. I almost cried saying bye to Barley… I become more of a sap every single day. I can only imagine what children will do to me.

Barley Meets Cows

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We kicked off our weekend with Mexican food at Teotihuacan over on Airline. Margs were cheap for HH and food was delish. We had tried to eat here a few weeks ago but it was packed! So we came earlier and had no trouble.

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We followed up our dinner with beer. Is anyone surprised?!? 8th Wonder Brewery in EaDo recently re-did their taproom so we had to check it out. Definitely felt less like a brewery since you couldn’t see much of the equipment, but it was nice. Dan chatted up one of the owners and he gave us a little private tour. He’s been researching a lotttt lately about opening up a brewery. According to the 8th Wonder guy, there are about 50 breweries in the process of opening in the Austin area right now… crazy. Anyway, I finally tried Rocketfuel (Vietnamese Coffee Porter) and it was really great. 8th Wonder hasn’t even started canning/bottling yet and they are consistently sold out just selling to bars in the Houston area. Plus they get about 1,000 visitors on one Saturday alone. Booming.

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On Saturday, we got up early for a drive to Waco to see my littlest sister presented as an AXO! While the presentation may have been incredibly boring (sorry Abby), it was neat to see the third of the Box girls as a part of the sisterhood 🙂 Us girls spent the afternoon shopping in Waco. We also stopped by Joanna Gaine’s shop (the host of Fixer Upper on HGTV that I love) called Magnolia. Which was of course adorable, even if minimal.

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While the ladies were out, Dan introduced Barley to some new creatures at his grandparents house. The cutest, oh my. Grandfather let me feed the sheep 🙂 who are incredibly shy. Or should I say sheepish? 🙂 🙂

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We also got to see a bunch of Dan’s cousins and aunt & uncle, which was a nice treat. However, the drive home wasn’t fantastic as I was hit by allergies and Dan is currently throwing up in the bathroom (fortunately we made it home before that started…). SO we are enjoying a lazy Sunday in bed while I pity poor Daniel and his temperamental tummy. At least we have an excuse to stay in and watch the Oscars!! We’ve seen several of the nominees so it should make for a fun show. My favs were The Imitation Game and Wild!

Dan is currently giving me details on the state of his vomit and I’m trying to ignore him. ENJOY THE OSCARS!

EEP!

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THIS has got me SO excited!! Big Bend has been on my list for a while but it’s SO FAR. Even the commercial airports closest to Big Bend are far from Big Bend. Story of living in Texas… it takes a bazillion years just to get out of your own state. You lucky folks in the NE with your tiny states… you don’t even know. Also, all of Europe. Don’t even get me started on Europe’s public transportation system and how quickly you can get places for so cheap. It provokes jealously.