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.
Tour de Dog Friendly Bars
My in-laws came to town! 2 weekends in a row of hosting! Getting lots of practice. I’m very lucky and really enjoy my in-laws. We always have a great time with them. Plus, they gave me Dan which is the best gift ever in my book. We definitely wore Barley out this weekend!!
Dan’s dad just LOVED Taboo (He didn’t love it. Not one bit. But he obliged my new game love and played a round because he’s nice). Also… I think this picture is precious. We made “The best chicken ever” and drank a bottle of wine Dan’s mom brought back from California that I really liked- Ventana Pinot Noir. Dan made a chai porter a few weeks ago so the boys worked their way through that keg.
Also, Barley is officially a giant dog. But I can still pick him up and that makes me happy 😀 😀
Saturday was pretty much a day for the dog! It did start with me attempting to make beautiful, delicious pancakes. They were delicious, but not beautiful. But I got to use my brunch plates again and that made them beautiful. Hooray!
^^ Mine vs. the pro’s… really no comparison^^
We finally got to go to the new dog park on Buffalo Bayou! Barley loved it, of course. And I love his ears in the running picture. There were also a dozen adorable bulldogs, which Dan and I both agree would make the perfect pal for Barley. ALSO- we had a girl come up to us and tell us she had instagramed Barley and recognized him! He is such a super star! Dan decided we should start using #beerwithbarley from now on.
Dan & Barley being cute at West Alabama Ice House. They both have sleepy eyes (maybe it’s the beer :))
Next stop: Hans! With a pit stop at Maine-ly Sandwiches for lunch. The lobster roll was so good.
The big, sleepy baby at Saint Dane’s.
Time to say “bye”! Dane vs. Mini Chihuahua (Dan’s sister Kim’s pup).
We still wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather, so we walked to Petrol Station & then to Cottonwood (via the railroad that runs behind our house- living life on the edge). Bar got more than a little tired on the way home. And this little girl loved him. Can’t wait to see our own kiddos with him.
Per usual, the weekend went by too quickly! Thanks for visiting Witchers!
BarMan
Barley is half a year old today! A bit crazy how much I adore him. So glad Dan talked me into a great dane because I can’t imagine having any other! Plus, I will always remember the face he made and his joyous shout/ double fist pump when I told I was okay with getting one. One of my favorite memories- I hope he does the exact same thing when I tell him we’re pregnant (don’t worry, we’re not trying… yet).
He was 7 1/2 weeks and 21 lbs when we got him. At 6 months he is already 80 lbs and still growing! I think I love him more with every pound even if he does eat us out of house and home. After he’s grown I’ll post a picture of the height chart we’ve been keeping in the closet door jamb 🙂
On the way home when we first picked him up 🙂 Last one of the litter and we can’t ever understand how.
and at 6 months!
And now an ode to our sweet Barley boy:
Happy half birthday Barley!!! We love you so.
The Witcher Stalkers
We found out who is buying the house next door! So we of course immediately facebooked creeped them because good neighbors are a big deal (shout out to Bill & Allie who brought us a really nice 1978 bottle of wine last week for no reason- thankful and can’t wait to open it and I hope it’s still good).
And guess what?! They went to UT, are our age, have a big dog, and we have lots of mutual friends (which is how we found out about them). But YAY! I hope they are as cool as they seem in their Facebook profile pictures (like I said.. we are creeps). And I hope they like us too 🙂
Hopefully it will have a good cleaning before they move in, because older men living alone aren’t always the tidiest folks.
Welcome to Garden Oaks Section I!!
A Visit from the Boxes (weird that’s no longer my name…)
My family came into town this weekend! It was the first time they’ve all visited since Dan and I got married and it was extra special because they all stayed in our little house. I loved playing host, cooking for them and showing them little bits of Houston. I have a lot to live up to considering my mother is the absolute best hostess (hopefully I won her approval this weekend :)) It went by so fast! It always amazes me how quickly a weekend can pass. My favorite part of all was just having them spending time in our home that we’ve been working on since the wedding. It felt really great to share it with them, even though that also meant sharing one bathroom, ha. It surprisingly wasn’t much of an issue! After all my complaining to Dan about how we NEED, HAVE TO HAVE, 2 bathrooms for when company visits, turns out it was fine. But I still want 2 bathrooms. Just in case. OH and we played Taboo (thanks Amazon Prime) which is my new favorite ever since playing at game night at the *future* Hilburn’s home.
Breakfast! I made a bacon & brie quiche that turned out pretty tasty. Still working on actually making in the time the recipe estimates it takes… this one took me 3 times as long to prepare. Also- brunch plates. Didn’t know they existed until we registered for the wedding, but they are adorable and I love them. Biggest hit of the weekend, food-wise, was the sweet potato salad I made when we grilled out.
My family brought Barley a treat! How cute is this?? He loved it, needless to say.
Sisters are the best! This is from St. Arnold’s Brewery, the oldest craft brewery in Texas (but the 1990’s really isn’t that old ha!) Dan and I went on a date here when they first moved to this building (over 2 years ago, what?!) and I was SHOCKED at the amount of people this time… the popularity has definitely boomed over the last couple of years. Although who can argue with hanging out in a beer hall on a cloudy afternoon?? The parentals are not super into beer, but I think they still enjoyed the tour (aren’t they cute?). And Abby is apparently taking after Dan in her drinking preferences, although she only got sips 😉 My fav is Weedwacker.
We also decided to go ahead and tack on having lots of people in our house by inviting friends over for the Super Bowl. Super relaxed night with good friends. Dan put the projector up in our teensy living room and it worked out really well! Now I want to have a weekend long movie marathon in our pajamas with a floor covered in mattresses. We made chili, queso blanco, and pizza bread (YUM).
Gah look at our pup. He was really intrigued just long enough for me to take this picture. Maybe we should put him in football lessons. Airbud?
bewitchered 