Quilt

It seems that every bedroom picture I post on Pinterest has one thing in common: a quilt across the foot of the bed.  Something about quilts just makes everything look more inviting.  And warm.  And cozy.  I could snuggle up in any of these beds and get lost in a good book for the day.

After months of looking and watching sales, I finally bought a new quilt.  And I love it. 

It's from Pottery Barn, and I snagged it at over 60% off. 

Hmmm... I think I'll be staying in bed to read today.  :)

Finally Some Veggies

So apparently all I need to do is bad mouth my garden.  I guess that gave it enough initiative to prove me wrong and actually start growing.

Pretty banana peppers.

Going in our tacos.

Look at this little bell pepper.

Ooo... and an eggplant.  I hope we actually get to eat this one before it over ripens.

It Is August 8th and I am Pining for Fall

Things I am looking forward to, in no particular order:

1)  Cooler temperatures.  And maybe some rain?  Maybe?  Please? 

2)  Decorating for the holidays.  I love love love my orange, green, & brown fall decorations.  And I have cute ideas for Halloween decorations. I can't wait to start.

 

3)  Pumpkin flavored/ scented everything.  Yummers!

4)  Ferryn & Steve returning home from the lake so we can resume our weekly-ish neighborly/ family dinners.  Oooo... and then when it gets cooler, hanging out on their patio with the chiminea.  Maybe Jase Face & I should get a chiminea?

5)  A more manageable work schedule.  Too many long days, sleepless nights worrying about work this spring & summer.  Enough of that!

6)  Our fall garden.  Our spring garden kinda failed.  Big time.  Good thing each new season gives you a do-over.  And we might actually have some homemade compost to use this season!  Hooray!  Is it weird compost excites me?

7)  Spending more time with this little dude:


Source: My brother's new awesome camera
that I'm more than slightly totally jealous of

Cause seriously, he's cute.  We really need to make more trips up to see him.

8)  Fall TV lineup.  I need me some How I Met Your Mother and Fringe.  These corny ABC Family shows that hold me over during the summer don't do much for me.

Hmmm... I'm sure I'll have more to add to this list.  But for now, it gives me something to look forward to.  :)

The 'Stros

Yesterday we met up with Jason's family who were in town to celebrate his cousin Kelley's birthday.  They treated us to a wonderful lunch at Pappadeaux and then to awesome seats at the Astros game.   

We've only been to Astros games a handful of times - usually when we've been invited by friends or family.  It's such a nice stadium.  Too bad the team hasn't played too well these last few seasons.  Oh well, it's still fun to people watch.

The rest of the crew showed up early for the pre-game festivities.  By the time the game started, Preston was out cold.  I was kinda jealous of how comfortable he looked.

In between lunch and the game, instead of watching the pre-game workouts, we went to Lucky's to hang out and read.  Yes, we go to bars and read.  We're not weird I swear.  We just know what makes us happy.

Anyways, I had a front row view of the start of the new Dynamo stadium.  I didn't realize how close it is to Lucky's or the apartments next door.  It's going to be nice once it's up and running.   

Considering those steel beams are all of it that exist right now, I think we're going to win our bet that a Dynamo game will not be played in it during 2011.  Hmmm.... where do we want to go to our victory dinner?

Picnic in the Park

Last night Jason & I headed to the Houston Shakespeare Festival and caught a rendition of The Taming of the Shrew.  If you remember, last year we saw A Midsummer Night's Dream.  We packed a nice picnic and enjoyed the relatively tolerable evening temperatures (despite daytime temps north of 100 degrees lately.) 


On the menu: cheese, salami, salmon dip, chicken caesar wraps, strawberries, cantaloupe, banana nut bread, & wine.

 

Before the show.



The Taming of the Shrew - set in the 1980's. 


It was a cute show.  After growing up in a small town, it still amazes me that there are so many things to do here in Houston.  Free Shakespeare in the park?  Yes, please.  Tonight we're headed to a baseball game and then to White Linen Night in the Heights if we have time.  It's just nice to have so many options, even if sometimes we just end up being lazy and watch movies on the couch in our living room.  I still dream of having my own country cottage one day, but for now, I think it would be hard to get Jason & I away from this city.

Bread Pudding

After being couped up in the house all weekend and craving something sweet, I decided to make bread pudding Sunday evening.  I had never made it before, so I looked for a recipe on the Internet.  Apparently bread pudding is one of the easiest desserts to make, and you can usually just use things you probably already have: bread (any variety), sugar, milk/ cream/ half & half, eggs, butter, and anything else you want to add.  I was craving chocolate and we had some extra bananas, so that's what ours had.

I basically followed this recipe: 

• 1 loaf white bread
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 stick butter
• cinnamon & sugar (to sprinkle on top)

For the glaze:

• 6 ounces chocolate chips
• 1/2 stick butter
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup sweetened, condensed milk
• 1/4 cup cinnamon & sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Cube the bread & add to a 9×13 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Make the custard by combining milk, vanilla, sugar, eggs, and butter with an electric mixer. Mix until combined. Pour over the bread and let soak for at least 10 minutes.



Sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar and bake for 40 minutes.



For the glaze, melt the chocolate chips with 1/2 stick of butter over medium heat. Once combined and melted, add the water, powdered sugar, and sweetened condensed milk. Return to medium/low heat for a few more minutes. Then add remaining cinnamon sugar.  Eat & enjoy.


 We had our dessert after this wonderful meal:

Our spin on a wedge salad.

Buitoni raviolies.

Yums!

Jason's 27th Birthday Adventure

To celebrate Jason's 27th birthday, I planned a full day of fun things for us.  Nothing too out of the ordinary, but stuff I knew Jason would enjoy. 

I presented each activity via a page from his adventure book right before it was time to move on.  (Cheestastic?  Yes... but hopefully fun as well.)  As you can tell, when he woke up, I made him breakfast.  (He chose boiled eggs & fruit.)  Then he watched part of the Tour de France before we headed to Barnes and Noble to pick him out some birthday books. 

The big part of the day was going to No Label Brewing Co. out in Katy.  We've been meaning to make it out there for months now, but have never found the time to do so.  It's such a small operation and they've only been around for less than a year, but boy do they make some yummy beer.

It's a family owned operation.  See that guy up there under the flags?  That's Brian Royo, part owner, giving us the low down.

I think there is some weird law that doesn't allow breweries to advertise where they distribute their product, so I caught this super secret picture from behind the scenes.  The white board shows what bars they are in and which brew is at which bar.

Oh, did I mention that the brewery is located in an old grain mill?  Pretty crazy digs.  Also crazy... the hundreds of people that show up on Saturdays to sit out in the heat and drink beer for a couple of hours.  They are kid and dog friendly, and believe me, there were plenty of both.

Doesn't 27 look good on Jason?

After the brewery tour, we quickly stopped by Katy Mills mall before meeting up with Sal & Nicole for drinks at Taps. 

We went to dinner at Zelko Bistro in the Heights and it was very good.  After that, we were pooped so we just headed home and went to sleep.

So, there you have it... Jason's 27th birthday adventure.  :)