Gender Reveal Party

We've had some fabulous news lately from some of our very good friends.  They are adding to their family and we could not be happier for them.  Over the weekend they had a gender reveal party.  I've never been to a gender reveal party, so I was so very happy to attend.  It was such a cute party.  The party was decorated in tutus and ties.  The guests were instructed to select a wrist tutu or a tie.  The tutu selection meant your guess was for a girl and the tie selection meant your guess was for a boy.  Cute idea, yes?  Yes.  We were also told we could dress in pink or blue to reflect our guess, as well.  I decided to wear my most girly/pink dress for the occasion.  I mean, this would be the perfect time to wear this dress and my guess was definitely for a girl.

Dress: I bought this a few years ago from a local Dallas boutique.  I seriously cannot remember the name of it.  Here are some similar options: 1 // 2 // 3
Shoes/Watch: Target
Earrings/Bracelet: Stella & Dot
Tutu bracelet: Isn't it cute?!

Also, they are having a GIRL!

Random Friday

1. Do you know the wonderfulness that is Sprinkles cupcakes?  They made a Sprinkles ATM!  As in (like any ATM), I can walk up to it at all hours of the day/night and buy whatever cupcake I want.  I'm excited.  I'm going to try to stay up past ten just so I can take full advantage.  Just FYI, it's located in Dallas.

2. Did you know it's National Ice Cream month?  Yeah, I can't think of a better reason for you to go out and get some ice cream.  As for me, I will mostly refrain.  Ice cream is on the list of absolutely not for me, since I am lactose intolerant.  I can get away with eating some dairy, such as a sprinkle of cheese or low-fat yogurt.  This is every once in a while, of course.  But ice cream?  No dice.  Well, have you heard of Paciugo?  It's technically gelato, but whatevs.  They make dairy-free gelato (okay it's mostly sorbet) and it's delicious.  The location closest to my house offers nine (NINE!) dairy-free flavors.  Yes, please.

3. This random is going to suck for you if you don't watch Project Runway.  Yeah, I'm a huge fan of the show.  Tim Gunn is pretty much awesome in my book.  This season is going to be ridiculous.  I'm my normal week behind, so there's not much I can say to spoil it for you.  Here are some randoms within a random.

• They brought back Kate.  I don't get it.  She was so awful last season.  So awful.
• The Russian guy is already super annoying.
• There are a lot of (rhymes with witches) on this season.  Men and women.  It is going to be full of drama.
• I love that two of the contestants are from the same city, know each other, compete against one another and hate each other.  
• I'm pissed that Michael Kors isn't back full-time.  

4. It's Thursday night as I write this and I'm sipping on a hot toddy because I sore throat.  You know what a hot toddy is, right?  Whiskey, honey, lemon and water. My whiskey is honey flavored, so it's even better.

5. I've really got nothing else.  I do have one short sentence about the royal baby.  I'm glad he's here and healthy and all that.  I don't care for his name, but I'm American and I feel in America the name George is not so popular.  Well that was two sentences. 

Have a great weekend.

Vacation: Colorado

The husband and I traveled to Colorado a few weeks ago to enjoy some much needed down time.  On the way we stopped at my Dad's to visit with him and to drop off Lola for a fun filled weekend with her Grandpa.  My Dad lives out in the middle of nowhere on a farm and he has many animals.  He breaks horses as a hobby and currently owns three horses.

Looking out the living room window

Then we went on to Colorado.  We chose a smaller city outside of Denver to spend a few days.  We wanted to be in a small town, surrounded by nature.  The town, Idaho Springs, is 8,700 feet above sea level.

About to drive through the side of the mountain to get to Idaho Springs

Nestled in the mountains

In Idaho Springs

Highlights:
We took the scenic byway to Mount Evans.  It's 15 miles to the entrance and then 15 more miles to the top.  Mount Evans is 14,240 feet above sea level.  The second 15 miles is the scenic stretch, driving on the edge of the mountain.  The narrow road twists and turns to the top of the mountain making this drive not for the faint of heart.  There are no guardrails and at times, no lines on the roads.  It's just you, the other drivers and 15 million cyclists.  Once we were at the top, we parked and got out to enjoy the views.  It was about 70 degrees in Idaho Springs, but it was 41 degrees (with a 41 degree windchill) on top of Mount Evans.  Brr!  There is a hiking trail to that leads to the very top of the mountain.  Mount Evans is amongst an elite group of '14ers'.  The views are amazing.

On the drive up.

On top of Mount Evans

We also visited St. Mary's Glacier.  There is a rocky hike up to the glacier and since it is summer, it leads to a beautiful lake (which is the runoff of melted snow).  There was snow still on the glacier, though.  We enjoyed watching other visitors ski down the side of the glacier.  The views were amazing here, as well.

That person is me and that is snow in front of me.

One day it rained all afternoon, so we headed over the Buffalo Bill Museum for some brain fun.  It was a very informational visit.  Some of the headdresses they had on display were absolutely beautiful.  We really enjoyed it and it kept us out of the rain.

Smaller highlights:
We discovered the best pizza I have ever had at a restaurant called, Beau Jo's.  It was so delicious that we went there twice. I wish I took a photo of it, but when hunger strikes, I do not have time for photos!  Idaho Springs, being such a cute little town, had such charm.  There was a small bakery that is staffed with the happiest man I've ever met. He was so full of optimism and he was really sharing the joy at such an early morning hour.  They have a little coffee shop, a small library, a soap store and more.  The town is nestled between the mountains.  We look forward to visiting again.

SIDENOTE: On our way to my Dad's house, we stopped at this little place called Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pies.  It was highly recommended by a co-worker and I have to say they make the most delicious fried pies. I believe it is right outside of Ardmore, Oklahoma, so if you're ever in the area, it's worth a stop.

Thank you for reading.

Random Friday

Well, well.  I decided to show back up.  I initially meant to take a small break to prepare for vacation... and that kind of turned into a 3 week hiatus (Sadly, I did not go on a 3 week vacation).  These things happen.  I really meant to spend the summer revamping the blog and spending hours on brainstorming topics and making this little, ole blog the best thing ever.  Well, life happened.  I also freaked myself out over how I wanted it to be perfect, etc.  Well, I decided to just jump right back in.  No long hours of over thinking, just back to the basics.  Ideally this little morsel of Internet real estate will start to evolve as I planned.  This will just happen over time, though.  No big ta-da or big monumental day of a new blog roll out.  I hope you'll stick around.  Now, on to the randoms!

1. Hey guess what?  I went on vacation.  Here are a few pictures.  I might do more of a recap later.  I can't decide if I think you will care or not.

It was 41 degrees and windy!

2. Also, on our vacation, Lola stayed with my Dad.  This is a big deal if you know me and know how my relationship is with my Dad.  While there Lola spent many hours outside on his farm and came home nice and smelly.  So of course she got a spa day.

I had to bribe her for this photo.  Apparently she's hired a publicist.

3. While she was enjoying some pampering, the husband and I took a run around White Rock Lake.  He was fighting a cold, so we walked more than ran and took in the scenery.

4. My car hit 130,000 miles.   We celebrated by keep on keeping on.

I was at a red light and in a very big hurry to catch this moment of victory.

5. Starbucks has a new drink that is perfect for the summer.  Even with soy milk, I'm all latte'd out.  It's called peach green tea lemonade and it's fabulous.

BONUS #6. I was driving back from a client's house and caught this photo of the Dallas skyline.  Beautiful, even if it's a melting, hot mess of a city (as in temperature and humidity).  Also, look at those clouds!  It did end up raining later that day.

Have a fabulous weekend.