Life in Pictures

Despite the blog silence (or maybe as evidenced by the blog silence), life here has felt full lately.  Here are a few of the high notes...

K turns 30

K's mom and I teamed up to plan a surprise birthday party for K at our favorite mexican restaurant in SA, La Fonda on Main.  The party was a success, the birthday boy was surprised, and I took exactly one picture.  Oh well, we'll always have this picture of the cake and I'm told K looked very surprised as we walked in : )

Deer Valley

K's other birthday gift was a ski trip to Deer Valley.  Our sweet friends let us use their house as a gift to K.  The weather couldn't have been better and the skiing was amazing.

Valentine's Day

Do you all make a big deal out of Valentine's Day?  I feel like it doesn't end up being that big of a deal for us.  It feels kind of forced to do nice things for each other because you're supposed to on this "holiday."  This year, Valentine's Day was so off my radar I actually planned to take dinner to a friend whose husband is deployed.  And then I kind of forgot about dinner for us.  

We ended up with this pancetta-spinach-whole wheat pasta creation that was actually pretty yummy.  And a good representation of our combined tastes.  K thinks everything better with bacon.  I think everything's better with spinach.  This time we both won :)  

March?

And then there was the whole month of March.  I don't really know what happened, but March flew by.  We got sick, K switched teams and has been working every weekend, and we tried out best to carve out some time together in between.

Easter

March ended on a high note - Easter,  a visit from my mom, and a great Easter brunch with friends.  We opted for another al fresco Easter celebration and the weather totally cooperated.  On the menu?  To start - caramelized bacon (this was to.die.for) and Trader Joe's Rosemary Almonds.  For lunch - rack of lamb persillade, green beans gremolata, braised carrots and parsnips, buttermilk mashed potatoes, and fluffy rolls.  Plus, deviled eggs (thanks, Meghann!) and a frittata (thanks, Dom!).  For dessert - easter egg sugar cookies (that we scattered in 'nests' on the table), Mary Carolyn's coconut cake, and Deb's carrot cake.  I'm still full, but it was a wonderful Easter.  

Hallelujah!  He is Risen!  Hallelujah!  

  

Time flies when you're . . .

too busy to slow down and breath having fun.  Seriously, though, we've been busy lately.  K switched to an in hospital rotation (which means he no longer gets to enjoy the schedule that comes with private practice) and I have been working non-stop to meet several large deadlines at work.  To say we've been busy is almost an understatement.  We're like barely getting our laundry done busy.  Thankfully we're still managing to have a little fun ;)  Here's a quick recap of life lately:

BYOP!

Our friends the Watsons had a BYOP (bring your own pie) party last month to celebrate Charlotte's half birthday and usher in Fall in San Antonio. (That's a little bit of an oxymoron, I know, but I promise the temperatures cooled off for at least two full days!) It was so much fun to sample the variety of sweet and savory pies and Mary Carolyn made a delicious salads to complete the meal.  Our contribution was a savory tomato, zucchini, and goat cheese tart.  Here's our tart just before it went into the oven.

Birthday Surprise

I turned 29 last week.  Yikes!  Work has been so busy that we didn't really have time to celebrate the day of, but K plotted with my bosses to surprise me with a quick trip last weekend.
It was a wonderful* surprise and I thoroughly enjoyed our little mini-vacation.
We played tennis, had a spa day and relaxed by the pool.

*Confession: I had to actively try to be excited about having my "plan" for Friday/Saturday thrown off.  I was actually a little disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to head into work at 6:30 on Friday morning to finish my motion and catch up on other deadlines before calling it a weekend.  I wish I was kidding.  I think that disappointment faded when I got to the spa mid-day Friday, but I feel like I have to at least confess the extent to which I am a control freak.  
Thanks for loving me anyway, K.

My Other Birthday Surprise

or Lucy's lesson in placing your treasure in heaven....
Last week, K and I made a big decision to buy a rug for our den.  I desperately wanted a patterned natural fiber rug, but we decided we needed something that would be a little easier to keep clean.  Read: a little more Lucy friendly.  We chose a neutral/patterned wool rug that I absolutely love.  We literally had the rug four days when I came home (on my Birthday no less) to this:

Yep.  Lucy ate the rug.  Or actually it looks like she sat there all day slowly pulling it apart.  Whatever.  She made a big fat mess of my pretty new rug.  I cried.  Then I immediately regretted that we had made a "big purchase" for the den.  Then I cried some more and went to bed.  A little dramatic?  Yes.  But I was frustrated and stressed and tired and it was my birthday.  K and I  decided Lucy was most likely trying to give us a not so gentle reminder that our material things just aren't that important.
She is so wise.  

Birthday Weekend

This weekend we travelled to Dallas to celebrate some very special family birthdays. Our niece, Cameron, turned 5 and Grandmommy turned 92. Family gathered from near and far to celebrate the two birthday girls.

The celebrations kicked off Saturday with Cameron's rainbow themed party. This party was sooooo cute and sooooo Cameron. Kristen thought of every detail and did everything herself - from the decor, to the craft, to the food, even the rainbow layer cake. It was all so lovingly thought out and fun. I wish that I had taken pictures, but here are a few that Kristen shared on Pinterest . . .

Can you believe Kristen made this shirt!? So cute!

Isn't the spread colorful and cute? Each layer of the cake was a different color of the rainbow.

Cameron's birthday party was followed by dinner at a Waldrep Family Favorite - Mi Cocina - YUM! Then Sunday we celebrated Grandmommy's birthday with a comfort food family brunch. On the menu? Grandmommy's favorites - pot roast, brussel sprouts, fruit salad and carrot cake. My favorite part of the meal (aside from dessert of course!)? The appetizers - smoked salmon dip and bacon wrapped dates with manchego and sweet pepper stuffing. I can't wait to get Kathryn's recipes for these scrumptious bites!

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Kevin,

Happy Birthday to you!

We celebrated K's birthday in style this year. First with a party with friends and K's favorite foods and then with cake and a steak dinner at San Antonio's Barn Door. On the menu for K's party?

Grilled Shrimp with Mango Salsa (recipe from Ina Garten)

Tenderloin Sliders with Blue Cheese Dressing and Caramelized Onions

Smoked Salmon with Dill Dressing

Vegetable Platter with Blue Cheese Dip

Mini Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes (another Ina Garten favorite!)

We had so much fun celebrating K's birthday. I am so thankful for my sweet husband and so glad that we can look forward to celebrating birthdays together from now until we're old and gray. Love you, K!