fort worth stockyards

A few weekends ago, we took a day trip with my brother-in-law and family to Fort Worth, about an hour away from Dallas.  I've only been there twice.  Once was when we first moved to Texas, and a family friend took us to downtown Fort Worth for an evening.  Another time was when Paul had a possible job interview five years ago, and I cried!  Don't ask!  Anyway, this was my first time at the Stockyards, and it was fun!

First thing we did was eat lunch.  We got there around 2pm, and realized we hadn't eaten lunch.  What were we thinking!  Don't have any pictures, but we ate at Cattlemen's Steak House and it was really good! I had their Caesar salad and chicken fried steak with fries.  Not sure if it was because I was uber thirsty, but their iced tea was very tasty too.   

We finished right at 4pm, and our waiter told us that we should head on over to Cattle Drive immediately to watch the herd.  It's held twice a day at 11:30am and 4pm.  They weren't kidding when it started at 4!  We probably got there at around 4:08, and it was basically over.  This is all I got from it. 

They had some cattle in different spots where you can pay $5 to ride it and take pictures.  Poor things.

I also took this shot from the behind.  Real mature, Aissa!  Proof #100 of why Paul can't take me anywhere.

Other pictures from the day.

Look at all the tourists with their fancy cameras.  It's good I didn't bring mine that day!  I would have blended right in!

This girl looks lost.

Paul and I

We'll probably go back another time, preferably when it's cooler out.  They have really cute boutiques and little shops for souvenirs, candy shops, and lots of places to eat.  If you're ever in the DFW area, this should be on your list of things to do. 

lately on instagram

{This one is obviously not from Instagram}

On Thursday, we celebrated Paul's birthday.  My sister baked him a delicious carrot cake, as requested, although he had no idea my sister was making him something.  We ordered chinese to go and had a quiet dinner at home.  We're wild!  There's Bailey eyeing my fortune cookie. 

We had sort of a last Girls' Night Out on Friday for our friend Nicole, who will be leaving us for sunny San Diego.  She just graduated from medical school and will be doing her residency there.  So sad that she's leaving us, but happy that we have a nice place to visit!  Good luck Nicole!  See you at your wedding!

{also not instagrammed}

We continued Paul's birthday celebration at La Duni on Saturday.  He ordered the Carne Asada Arrachera (pictured above), which is a 10 oz steak, and it was orgasmic!  I had their Flautas De Pollo Con Ensalada, which came with 4 flautas,  their roasted salsas and avocado for dipping and a salad.  For an appetizer, we ordered their famous Queso Verde.  It was stringy and melts in your mouth, the perfect consistency. 

My grid frames are finally up!  More on this on my next post. 

homegrown

Over the Memorial Day Weekend, we drove down to Houston to spend some time with my in-laws.  We haven't been back since January, and a visit was long overdue.  They showed us their garden, which they're very proud of.  It's a lot of work, but they now have endless vegetables and fruits to last them for the rest of summer. 

They have corn, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, blueberries, blackberries, fig trees, watermelons and green onions, just to name a few. 

They've also got grapes growing.  We joke that maybe one day, they should start their own winery.  That would be so awesome!

Bailey wasn't too impressed by the garden.  All she cared about was getting her tan on.  That's my girl!

Now, we have two bags full of cucumbers, squash and green beans, and I have no idea what to do with them yet.  We went through a cucumber and squash phase for two weeks straight, and I don't know if I can handle any more.  If you have any good recipes, send them my way!

I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend!

grapevine main street festival

On Sunday, my brother-in-law and family invited us to go to the Grapevine Main Street Festival.  This was my first time visiting Grapevine's historic downtown area, and it did not disappoint.  They had live music, a carnival and vendors all lined up on the street selling their goodies.  I especially liked the area designated for all the pizza vendors.  They had red, green and white flags (viva Italia) hanging across the street which made for some great pictures.  The pizza wasn't so bad either!  We had a lot of fun, and I think baby Weston had a good time too.

And speaking of babies, I wanted to wish my (not-so-baby) brother a Happy Birthday!  He just graduated with his Masters in Electrical Engineering with a 4.0 GPA.  All the stress, hard work and late nights really paid off.  We're so proud of you!

weekend wrap-up

Thursday night, we celebrated my sister's birthday at Chuy's.  Her boyfriend surprised her with a Nutella Cake from La Duni.  All I heard was nutella + cake, and I started having heart palpitations.  I felt like it was MY birthday!  This cake is out of this world!  Another highlight of the night was my Mom asking what HBD was...smh...

On Friday, we went the the Rangers game.  It's been almost 3 years (maybe 4) since the last time we actually went to a game.  I'm part of the Social Club at work, and every year, we try and do a sporting event.  We had some pretty good seats, and we each had $15 vouchers to spend for food and drinks.  Even though we lost, it was still a good time!

We went to a friend's baby shower on Saturday night.  She is having a baby girl this May, and her theme is purple, and monkeys, hence the banana!

I'm going to Jacksonville, Florida this weekend to visit my Mom's side of the family.  Haven't been there since 2009.  It's a very short visit, but I hope we can make a quick trip to the beach. 

Have a good week everyone!

peace up, A-town

Sorry for being gone for a while.  I've been pretty busy with work, and last Friday, I was off to Austin for a bachelorette weekend getaway.  Unfortunately, I didn't take that many pictures, but here are a few that are blog appropriate.


We stopped at the Little Czech Bakery, off of I-35 close to Waco, to grab some kolaches.  This place is the tiniest shop and it's right next to a gas station.  It was packed both times we made a stop.  I got some sausage and cheese rolls, sausage and sauerkraut, and cream cheese kolaches.  Oh, and the picture on the right is the lady's attempt at spelling my name.  At least she got the pronunciation right!


Friday night's festivities.  It was supposed to be a slumber party, but we decided to go out to a local bar and we danced our hardest!  Sometimes, just winging it makes for a fun night. 


Saturday morning, everyone felt like crap, although you can't tell from the Bride-To-Be's smile!  Sunglasses were definitely a must that day.  We went to the spa, and it was so worth it.  I had a 45-minute massage, and a body wrap.  I've done a massage and scrub before, but have never gotten a body wrap.  They basically paint this sea salt mud on your arms, legs and back, wrap you in hot towels and put foil over you.  I really felt like a human baked potato!  My skin felt so silky smooth afterwards though. 

Some of us were done early, so we headed to South Congress (or SoCo, as Austinites would call it).  The last time Paul and I were in Austin for Labor Day weekend (read more here and here), we never made it down there because it was so freaking hot!  They had food trucks and vintage stores all lined up along the street.  Our first stop was New Bohemia, which is a retro-vintage store.  I scored a red clutch, necklace and a ring for really cheap!  We also went to Feathers Boutique which sells vintage clothing for men and women.  I think driving 3 hours from Dallas to Austin might be worth it just to go shopping!  I wish I took pictures because the weather was lovely.  I could sit out on the patio and people-watch all day.  There were so many different groups of people with such incredible, eclectic style, and everyone seemed to be out with their doggies.

We had a Mardi Gras theme Saturday night.  We ate dinner at Carlos Santana's restaurant, Maria Maria.  A trip to Austin wouldn't be complete without a stroll down 6th Street.  And no, we don't know that guy on the left, but this is what 6th Street will do to you. 

I already can't wait to be back in Austin!  I'm just blown away every time I'm there.  I hope you guys had a good weekend!

Oh and HAPPY LEAP DAY!