All the excitement.... Turning 25

I'm officially "old"

Well this year I was excited to celebrate as i blogged before... So i thought I would recap my celebrations. Of course NOTHING went according to plan but thats ok.

So it started in Dallas as I said before and Toneisha surprised me with a really sweet and thoughtful gift. Since I love to travel she bought me a passport holder and luggage tag. I love it. she knows me too well!

We had a game night, drinks, cake and lots of other things over the course of the weekend.... I was so sad to come home.

During the week my mom mailed me my gifts. She sent me some clothes from Victoria Secret that I wanted. My personal fave.... the convertible dress. Omg its hot and its fits like it was made for me. They ways to wear it are ENDLESS. She got me another adorable sundress, a tank and a cardigan. Most of which are in pink... my fave. The convertible dress is in a purple color. Sooo pretty!

So on the 8th I had a tiny brunch with a few girlfriends. This month was hard to coordinate because EVERYONE has either a graduation/wedding/race/something going on mother' day weekend or the weekend after.....

We ate at the Hobbitt Cafe on the patio and it was such a lovely day. The food there was so good and the mimosas amazing..... My dear friends Kat, Emily Daniels, Emily Gerger, and Alicia were able to join me and they gave me really sweet gifts.

Me opening my gift from Kat

Emily G and I (she knows me well.. check out the hot pink bow :) )

Emily G, Alicia and I

Kat, Emily D and I

Yummy Mimosas

My buffalo avocado burger

Em's avocado omelet ( or calzone as she liked to call it)

When lunch was over i went home and met up with Rebekka at her pool with her roommate Sarah and Sarah's boyfriend. Some neighbors were out there with their dog and we had a hell of a time. Shanna and her boyfriend showed up and we had a fun time by the pool. Since Shanna, Bekka and I all have birthdays within a week of each other we got a little photo.

Bekka and i spent the rest of the night watching the movie the Kite Runner ( which was excellent) and then Betty White on SNL ( best bday gift ever)

The next day on my actual birthday i did absolutely NOTHING. my dad came over in the morning and brought me a card and then he went with my step family and did the whole mother's day thing. i really missed my mom and last mother's day was the last time I saw my grandma before she died so i just didnt want to remind myself of that so i opted out. I stayed in my pjs all day and relaxed. It was quite nice. I think the dog enjoyed it. I was a little ticked off that he didnt do anything for me for mother's day.... when will dogs learn? haha jk

Friday the 14th my heterosexual life partner hahahah my best friend Michelle came in town to celebrate for the weekend. That night we met up with my oldest guy friend Ryan and his amazing wife Lea and one of my favorite places... Amazon Grill. We drank Mojitos and Michelle gave me my gifts. She found my favorite pair of earrings in another color, a wristlet, some cute notecards and.... Single girl's madlibs. We had a blast and came up with some funny and sometimes rather inappropriate madlibs lines that has the 4 of us several new inside jokes.

The next morning Michelle and I woke up and joined my friend Shanna, Bekka and Jenny for Brunch at the Hobbitt cafe again. It was raining the entire time but we were able to sit on the patio under the cover. We ate yummy food once again and enjoyed the girl talk.

That night we had dinner at the W Grill ( my review will come later in the month) and then met up once again with Bekka and Shanna at Rebel's on Washington to celebrate their birthday's as well. We stayed awhile and then left once my buddy Mike showed up.

US BIRTHDAY PEOPLE

I had told everyone to meet at Open city and we got a text from my old boss and friend Mike that he was headed that way so we did the same, only to find that Open city well... isnt open. We went next door to the Tipsy Clover and hung out for quite awhile. Mike and his gf showed up and James made it. We got over to shot bar shortly before they closed and unfortunately didnt get to spin the wheel, but we ran into some other people and when the bar closed we headed to katz deli for some late night eats. lol i saw a guy when i came out of the restroom i hadnt seen since highschool. we were cool then but you never know if someone remembers you, so i just kept walking and giggled.

Since it was graduation weekend a majority of my friends couldnt make it which i understood but needless to say i had a BLAST!

My trip to Dallas

My trip to Dallas and the Warrior Dash

First off, my weekend up there was amazing and boy do i have some AMAZING FRIENDS!!!
I got up to Arlington Thursday night and swung by to see Braden at Houlihans. Had a snack and avoided the old man next to me trying to get friendly lol and headed to Toneisha's when she got out of class. Her and I stayed up super late just chit chatting. It was so great to see her. It had been to long since her and I just were alone to catch up.

The next morning we woke up and ate and got ready for our adventure. i hadnt had carbs in months and that morning i had special k ( judge me all you want I LOVE IT) and that afternoon i felt like i was on crack. it was hilarious how the sugar effected me. We started the afternoon off by going to Plato's Closet and did a little shopping. Toe had never been before so I had to introduce her to it! I bought 2 things for work and we headed off to an area called the highlands where we shopped and ate sushi at Piranha. It was delicious!



After lunch we drove to the West End of Dallas and walked around and took photos of some of the buildings the the street art we encountered.


On our way our we saw several bus loads of the polygomists parked right next to us. we took a few photos and tried to be slick about it, but they probably knew.... ah well.

We left and went to a ritzy part of Dallas and Toe took me to get Frozen yogurt( my fave) since i hadnt had any in FOREVER!!! omg it was great.


We left Dallas and drove to Lewisville to see my oldest friend Kristin. Kristin was kind enough to let me dig through all the things she had cleaned out of her closet. ( let me tell you i racked up... she's awesome) the picture below was one of my faves.... hehehe


We got back to Arlington and cleaned up and met up with the boys at Fuzzy's tacos for dinner and then to Dukes for some drinks.


The next morning the boys ran in the Warrior Dash. The three of us got up there early to scope it out. Omg the stupid guy at the parking lied to us and told us we were at the closest lot to the event. WRONG. We walked FOREVER! I was like " ummm maybe this treck to the site is in fact the warrior dash..."

There were lots of costumes. i think the smurfs were my favorite. My least favorite.... girls that strapped fake penises to their shorts and were acting so gross with them. Really?! I bet your parents are so proud....


The boys did awesome. I held on to this guys bag while he ran and he finished up with them. i felt bad i tried to time it so that i could watch them hurdle the fire and crawl through the mud before the finish line, but they were faster than they expected. I was waiting and waiting and all of a sudden i feel this wet thing on the back of my foot and it was brandon trying to sneak up on me! :( i missed them but i'm just glad i was there. Braden and Brandon are 2 of the greatest guys i've EVER known. it was awesome to have this experience with them!


Afterwards, they dropped me off at Toe's apt and her and I went to get drinks and desserts while the boys showered and ordered pizza. We did what Toe and I love most and had..... GAME NIGHT! Kristin and her boyfriend Ricky came over and we had a blast!

CAKE NOM NOM NOM

Kristin and I!!!

Our pieces for the game Quelf

Braden had to have his belt wrapped around his head the whole game and part of the game he had to have his hands stuck to his head. brandon for awhile had to slap his knee and say "whackawhackawhacka" everytime someone laughed. needless to say thats was the only thing out of his mouth for ...quite awhile. Toneisha's husband Evan had to have a picture of peroxide on his forehead the whole night. Such a random but fun game!

Then we played dirt.... i think us girls had the most dirt.... lol

The next morning Morgan drove up from Austin and we headed out with the boys to the race site again!

They're the best. Love you guys!

The race was a blast. I cant even describe to you how much mud there was and how deep it was. you saw shoes everywhere from people who had lost them. Some of the obstacles were a little janky and over played on the website. Some on the other hand were underplayed. they said you had to go down a river bank, but they made slides out of the mud ( my favorite part) and then they said you would have to wade through a river.... well there were parts i couldnt stand and you have to hurdle huge logs. Fortunately Braden and Brandon warned me about that part. omg we had a blast!!!!! I got some more photos from the photographers but i need to edit them and put them up.

Fire hurdles at the end

Mud under barbed wire before the finish line

Right after finishing... like morgans banana and my facial expression lol?

After getting hosed down in the freezing water

We waited forever for these darn turkey legs and omg were they AWESOME

WE DID IT!!!!

the boys dropped us off and unfortunately because of how late it was, Toneisha and Evan had to go to bed, but the 4 of us went out to BJS for dinner, drinks and Pizookies. Yum.

Great weekend. I love challenges, i love friends, laughter and memories. Definitely a lot of memories and reminders of how each of these people are a blessing in my life! XOXO

April's Reviews

This month I did not try as many places as I did in March which is ok. I frequented more of my regular spots this month, but thought i review the places and services i encountered.

Laser Hair removal

i went to a girls night out even last november and won $400 dollars off a laser hair removal package at Avante Spa. They are super knowledgable and the original lazer hair removal place in houston. in fact the lady who owns it spoke with me and they are working with legislation to get laws and regulations put in place for laser hair removal places....



Well i was nervous as i heart it hurt pretty bad and they explained to me that the perfect candidate is someone who has very fair skin ( me!) with dark hair ( not me boo). The laser only sees pigment so someone with dark hair feels more pain because the laser attaches to their skin instead of just the hair. Since it sees pigment it doesnt see blonde hair at all! and no you cannot dye it because your hair actually has to be shaved and it sees the pigment at the root.


well the pain wasnt that bad. sometimes you feel a really cool sensation ( which was when it hits a blonde hair) and then a warm pop which is when it finds a dark hair. well we did my test spot and i dont think its gonna work for me. I'm too blonde and why spend 1,300 bucks ( with my discount and an additional discount off the package) on 6 treatments that are only slightly going to make a difference. No thanks! If i had dark hair i would be all for it. i'd fork out the money in a second!

Thai Village

Kristel and i went here one night after we met up in the village. the tom guai soup ( i probably misspelled that) and their curry was so good until....... i noticed at the end of my dinner a giant mosquito at the bottom of my bowl on top of a piece of chicken. OMG i about puked! Kristel and laughed and we were like, "um i didnt know aids was on the menu!"

So the waitress comes over and i tell her about the mosquito and she is like "ooohhh ok well do you want a to go box for the rest?"

UMMMMMM NO!

So then the owner comes out and she is like "ohhh me so sowwie... it must be the flies in the kitchen or somedig" WHAT!?! you mean you arent even going to feed me some bs line about being at the front. gross. so then she is like " i took 25% off the todal beel" . typically i would have argued but well, i just wanted to get out of there. It was disappointing because otherwise i totally would have gone back!

Chelsea's Grill

I met up with someone for brunch here one satuday. I had read about it in a Houston magazine and put it on my list of brunch places. I had their Chelsea's breakfast which was eggs your way, sausage, bacon and potatoes. I substituted the potatoes for fruit and their fruit was SOO GOOD. It was all really good. I wasnt impressed with their salsa that i asked for to go on my eggs. their sausage was delicious and so was their bacon but the bacon was extra fatty bacon. the patio was nice and a decent crowd of people were there enjoying the nice weather on the patio. I'd definitely go back. i want to check out their lunch as well!

La Griglia

My dad and stepmom reserved the patio and the private room to celebrate my stepmom's 50th birthday. They really enjoy the place and my dad is an addict to their like 12 layer chocolate moose cake.

We had a wine and appetizer reception on the patio. The patio is pretty narrow but it has some nice loungy areas and a neat fire water element.

The private room was really nice! The acoustics werent great but thats the interior designer in me poppin out. They set the room up with several round tables and our service was impeccable. The main waiter was a guy who usually waits on my dad. I guess he knew to take care of my dad and he would take care of him. they did a great smooth job. I didnt get to try any of it but they bring out a big basket of garlic bread, breadsteaks and pizza before your meal. the service i thought was even more exceptional because we had an open menu which i'm sure at 30 people was a challenge for the kitchen. I had their autumn salad which was amazing and ordered their beef morty with a side of veggies. the Beef morty is served similar to veal where its pounded really really flat and takes up the whole plate. It had olive oil and seasoning on it and was topped with artichokes. the side of veggies they brought me was a plate of brocoli, asparagus, spinach, carrots, eggplant, zuchinni and squash. omg it was so good!

After dinner dad and kathy had special ordered 2 huge chocolate moose cakes and i'm not lying when i say they are probably about 8 to 10 inches tall and they cut the slices huge for each table! They also ordered a strawberry ricotta cake which looked amazing. When i get the photos from my stepmom i'll post them. it looked amazing! Everyone really really enjoyed it.

I told my dad when sugar and i are reunited he could take me there so i could try the cake. i cant wait. i hope he's hungry cus something tells me that it will be so rich 2 bites and i'll be doneski!

Happy Earth Day

Well happy earth day everyone. This picture cracked me the hell up. Big fat bald guy with the tiny tshirt, picking his nose with trash on the ground.... awesome!

Well I know some people find the idea of all this"greenwashing" going around to be a little over the top at times, which it can be, however protecting what we have for tomorrow is a total legit concern.

i'm constantly talking about sustainability and green products in my career, or how my LEED accredidation goes into play on a project or how this could be sustainable and how we can change this... on a daily basis. it just goes with what i do.

what it boils down to is the little things we do to make a difference. not everyone has to design their house with solar panels, or drive an electric car etc... those things make a big impact but its not feasible for everyone. There are some people though that just decide to be ignorant and dont care and thats where we all suffer as a society.

So when you throw your trash out the window of your car cus you cant wait til you get home or to a gas station to throw it away.... just think about how much crap there would be if every body did that. its gross.

i see neighbors throw out nice pieces of furniture on the street and it sits there and while if i had room for it would take it. not because i need or want to, but someone else could benefit from it. So instead leaving it to rot on the street makes it unusable to anyone. sell it on craigslist or donate it to goodwill. even if its a piece of crap, people refinish that stuff and turn it into their own treasure!

for my own little give back today in addition to the recycling i did, i'm asking everyone to chip in....
next week at the warrior dash they are taking old running shoes and recycling them for people who cannot afford good shoes. So.... if you have any old, muddy or just shoes you dont wear anymore, let me know and i'll come get them or you can bring them to me and i will drop them off at the race site!!!! better that than a bunch of rubber soles cloggin up more space in landfills....

My latest spots i checked out....

Well in keeping up with my goal of trying new places, the month of march and so far in april i have had the opportunity to check out a few cool places so i thought i would review on it. I'm just going to do March for now.

Taco Milagro ( In upper kirby)

i went here in highschool but havent been back since. i met up here on a saturday with a friend and some of his friends. It was a super nice day and the patio was poppin! We had a great time people watching! i wont go into details but it was a riot! I ate their chicken fajita plate and it was great! the meat was drier than i expected but it was an adequate amount of meat and the guacamole was great! Since i'm not doing carbs right now i didnt get to try any of their chips or drinks but from the amount people were consuming, it must be good. the patio has people with their dogs and a great place for a saturday afternoon/early evening.

The Tiny Boxwoods

One of my girlfriends loves this place and reccomended it to me. I actually did not eat there but went by to check it out as a potential spot for my birthday. its just gorgeous. the people who own it own the restaurant, a landscape architecture firm, a nursery, and a store all right there. My friend Julie and i went over there one day and just walked around and we planned to eat but they were in between lunch and dinner so only wine and cheese were available. Since i cant have either we said we'd come back. I really want to go for breakfast or brunch one day and sit on the patio/garden.

Ibiza (Midtown)

I had dinner here one night and omg was it delicious. i ordered a big beef tenderloin and substituted veggies for the potatoes. It was huge and i loved every bite. My friend I ate with had the porkchop which i was fortunate enough to taste and it was delicious as well. the restaurant reminded me a of when i worked at Reggiano's the way they served and the open kitchen. My company had our spring meeting there last year in the lounge next door which was fabulous as well.

Ruby Tequila's (midtown)

This place opened up not to long ago, and one night i went and ate their with my friend Julie and her boyfriend. the place was pretty busy and the three of us just shared a combo of their fajitas. The fajitas were delicious. They were stingy on the guacamole. Again i didnt get to try any of the chips or the drinks, but they had margaritas with Dos Equis in them ( see above) as well as some other interesting margaritas that sounded delicious. They had a neat firepit inside that you could sit around as well. very casual probably a good place to go unwind after work!

Camielle's Sidewalk cafe ( downtown tunnel)

A coworker and i decided to try this place out during lunch one day as we have passed it in our walks around the tunnels a few times. It was so good and they have lots of healthy options. I grabbed their cobb salad with some modifications and she had one of their wraps. The food was great, was affordable, fast service and nice selection.

Grappinos's Patio (right outside of downtown on dallas)

This year my company has their spring meeting here on the patio. the food was really really good! i wish i could have tried the dessert and more of the food but the antipasta, veggies and skewers were great and from what others said the tiramisu and cheesecake were awesome too. Its a nice ambiance and there was a guy playing his guitar to some great music the night we went. it reminded me a bit of the patio at reggiano's when i worked there as well.

Boheme (taft and fairview)

Julie and i went here before going to Ruby tequila's. Its a fun little bar with some neat details. the inside has these large telescopes, cool chandaliers made from bottles and the patio has funny random pieces of furniture probably picked up from the junk stores near by. they have a wide variety of drinks and serve "bites" which are different kinds of curry. i plan to return to check that out!