raw-stin.

I love March for many reasons. One of them being it's my birthday month! Stephen surprised me with a little trip to Austin, Texas, for some adventuring. I stayed on top of the weather forecast the entire week before hoping the anticipated rainy weekend would change to sunshine. It didn't. So we planned for inside activities.

Now... we didn't realize until after we planned on going to Austin that SXSW was still taking place. We knew there were going to be a lot more people in town and lots of music. We were hoping to check out a few bands, but didn't (mainly because I knew none of the bands performing!). On Saturday morning, we had brunch at the coolest restaurant, Hillside Farmacy. In the 1950s the building served as a pharmacy and still has all the original pharmacy cabinetry. It was really neat and the food was delicious. I got their Bangers and Eggs and he the Big Brekkie.

After brunch, we headed to SoCo also known as South Congress. This is a fun strip of shopping and restaurants. I had previously been to SoCo a few years back and everything still looked exactly the same!

Shortly after checking out SoCo, we went to the Texas State Capitol. Somehow we managed to hop on a free tour just as soon as we were walking in the front doors. I'm glad we did, otherwise I wouldn't have known what we were looking at. Fun fact: The Texas State Capitol is 1 foot taller than the Capitol in DC. The builders purposely made the statue on top to be the tallest in the U.S.! Everything is bigger in Texas....

This is the view, looking up, from the middle of the TX Capitol.

After seeing what the Capitol had to offer, we drove around the outskirts of town and made a stop at HEB grocery store so that I could stock up on my famous Texas Pecan coffee. While checking out of HEB, I noticed quickly they weren't bagging my very precious coffee. After ringing me up, I asked if I could have them bagged...turns out Austin, Texas, is anti-bags. They're a green city and no where will you find plastic bags for the taking. You have to bring your own re-usable ones to the store! I told them us Dallas people must be bad. So I walked out with an arm full of coffee.

We then traveled to one of the famous Austin Overlooks. I'm not exactly sure what the name of it is...it may not even have a name. I'm actually trying to remember how we even pulled this place up on Google maps! It was okay. I'm sure when there isn't rain and fog, it has way better visibility. It was short hike to reach the top. Let's just say hiking in grip-less booties and mud is not fun.

It was getting close to eating time so we breaked at Hula Hut. It's a mexican/hawiian type place. Is that a strange combo? Kind of sounds like it now that I think about it, but the food was delish! After lunch, we headed back downtown to have afternoon coffee at Halycon. I'm so glad we did this because it was located in the heart of SXSW. There were hipster peeps everywhere and we were able to listen to some bands from afar.

After caffeine and rest, we freshened up and went back to SoCo for dinner at Perla's. SoCo was very much alive on Saturday night! Luckily, we were smart enough to make reservations and were seated just as soon as we arrived. Perla's is known for their fresh seafood. Cue blog title post now: raw-stin. Stephen insisted on getting raw oysters. I had never had them before and he really likes them! So I was really brave and tried them. OMG. I like all food. I do NOT like raw oysters. Horribly fishy!! Have you seen the movie Unbroken? Do you remember the scene when they were stuck in the tiny boat out at sea and ate a raw fish? That is what it's like to eat a raw oyster.

Now, Perla's was still amazing even if I don't like oysters. I had the Red Fish and Stephen the Tuna. We got the sharing size of the dirty rice. Superb. The Cab wasn't too bad either. I would definitely recommend this place! On our walk back to the car, I had Stephen snap a photo of me in front of the famous "I love you so much," sign. I can now mark that off my bucket list (kidding).

We had a wonderful time despite the rain and amount of people. Thank you, Stephen, for loving me so well! 

P.S. Here's to celebrating my 100th blog post!!! Crazy to think I've had this little website running for almost 2 1/2 years!

*The title of this post is brought to you by Stephen*

february highlights.

Well February brought warm, sunny picnic days and iced-in, snowy no school days! I got the best of both worlds. Definitely ready for green grass and flowers to make their Spring debut.

Here are a few highlights from the second month of the year:

• I started a new Bible study called "The Five Aspects of Womanhood." My school nurse, Darlene, is leading it. There's a mix of young and old ladies. Single, married, dating and divorced. Women from the U.S., Great Britain and South Africa. I cannot say how thrilled I am about this in-depth, transparent and life-changing study!
• Stephen and I went to a Progressive Two Step dancing class! I must say the only way I got him to go was by not telling him. At first, he wasn't too excited, but he got over it. We went with one of my co-workers, Jennifer and her better half. Stephen and I are definitely terrible dancers, but it was fun.
• I got to have lunch with Stephen at his job! It's always really nice to not be around 14 year olds at lunch time. 
• Hannah came in for a quick trip! We literally talked the whole time, went to our usual Greek restaurant and she took care of me. I got some weird 24 hour virus :( 
• I GOT MY BRACES OFF!!!!!!!!!!!! PTL for basically being 25 and finally having teeth again! Also, my orthodontist is better than yours. Why? They give their adult patients a bottle of wine when they get their braces off. Hello, free bottle of Merlot. (Yeah...I took an at-work selfie)
• Stephen and I were supposed to go to a Stars hockey game last night, but due to the 4-5 inches of snow/ice we received yesterday there was no way we could safely make it south. Bummer. Notice how deep those footprints are in the snow!

hillsboro & homestead.

This past Saturday Stephen & I had a little date-day. We went to Homestead Heritage & Hillsboro to visit my great Uncle Jeff!

First we went to the Homestead to eat lunch! I literally looked forward to this meal all week long. I've mentioned the Homestead once before, but it has been far too long. We planned to get there after the lunch crowd...but we arrived to find out there was an hour and half wait. And Stephen's stomach was already growling. We (I) decided we had driven all the way there -- of course we were going to wait! So we walked around and went to the new Market. We learned there they now had BBQ to offer! And there was no wait...so we ate BBQ sandwiches in the sunshine and neither of us complained. It. Was. Fantastic.

Then I got their famous cookies and cream ice cream. I promise, y'all, it's better than Bluebell. I know this for a fact because the night before I ate a pint of Bluebell's cookies and cream. No comparison. Homestead > Bluebell.

If you ever go to central Texas, you must make time to stop and eat and enjoy an afternoon at Homestead Heritage! There just isn't anything like it.

This was Stephen and I's second time to visit together. The first time was four years ago while I was at Baylor....

That day we never would've thought we'd be dating! 

After lunch at H.H., we headed 20 miles north to Hillsboro to visit one of my favorite people. My Uncle Jeff is a Pawpaw more than anything. He lives way out in the country and the drive to his house is so pretty. Tons of farmland and hills. When you pull up to his house you have to watch out for all of his pet....chickens! They have free roam over the yard. I'm just happy he got rid of the roosters!

I brought him some famous West Kolaches and we munched on those. Then Stephen and I went for a walk on his land.

Stephen: I look majestic. 

It was so great to visit with Uncle Jeff. I just wish I could make it down more often to keep him company.

And a quote from him, "Stephen, now she's a diamond in the ruff. You gotta polish her up. Make sure she can cook before you decide to keep her forever."

Thanks, Uncle Jeff....

And a quote from Stephen on the way home, "Man, he really cares about his food."

Clearly! Still love that man though :)

It was a beautifully, peaceful day & I'm so thankful for the time I got to spend with those two men.

cousin adventures: part ii.

Last summer I got to travel to Boston to visit my cousin, Austin. It was such a fun-filled vacation! So Austin decided it was time he make a trip down to Big D to see me!... And one of his best friends from high school, Alex.

We had an absolute blast! On Friday, Austin, Alex, Ashley (Alex's girlfriend), and I had dinner at Mi Cocina in Dallas and then walked over to the Rustic for some live music. The food was delicious (a froyo stopped also happened) and the band was great!

We tried to get to bed at a decent hour, because there was a lot on the agenda for Saturday. The next morning, Austin and I got in my car and were surprised to find my car would NOT start. Not even turn over. Oh, joy. So I called my neighbors... they weren't home. Then I called my mom and she told me I had my own battery charger in my garage! Score!

Luckily, we were able to get it charged and started in under 20 minutes. Just a small hiccup!

After making it to Dallas, we visited SMU's campus and toured the George W. Bush museum. I absolutely loved the museum. It was so cool to get to walk through each chapter of Bush's life. Do you know what Bush now does in his freee time? Paint! There was an exhibit showing all of his art. He doesn't paint mountains and flowers though. Bush has painted multiple presidents of other countries -- all of them are his friends! How cool is that? They were all so great! He really does have a talent. In a short video, Bush said he had never picked up a paint brush until 2011.

 

love George.

 

Saturday night we went to the Bishop Arts District  in south Dallas -- I had never even heard of it. There are tons of restuarants, bars and boutiques. All the buildings are old and have so much character. We ate at the famous Lockhart's BBQ. It. was. delicious. I'm still working off that brisket haha. After dinner we shopped around a bit before heading back downtown.

 

Austin: Sperrys and shorts rolled like a bro.

I'm so glad Austin came to see me! I'm grateful for every minute we get to spend together. I love you (favorite) cousin, Austin -- cannot wait until our next travel adventure!

mavs & (lots of) meat.

This past weekend was lots of fun! On Friday night Stephen and I had tickets to a Mavs game in Dallas. Neither of us had ever been to a game so we were pretty excited. Our seats were a little high up (I bought the tickets for him for V-Day), but we could still see the game (thank goodness!). 

Go Mavs!

We left a little early to beat all the traffic and on our way to the car we passed one of the life size B & G letters that are all around Dallas. You are supposed to stand in the middle and be the life size I and then post it to social media (of course) with hashtag BigDallas. Interestingly enough, at this particular location, there was this person dressed up as a bull and a girl handing out fliers. Before we knew it we were posing with the bull in the middle of B & G and the girl was taking our picture. It all happened really fast and I’m still confused as to why there was a bull. Haha. That awkward moment when…

Us & a bull?

Then on Saturday sweet Stephen surprised me with a dinner date to Texas de Brazil. We had previously been talking about the fact that we had never eaten at a Brazilian Steakhouse before so I guess he decided it was time for us to try one!

Really there are no words to describe the amazingness of this restaurant. Once we were seated our waiter explained that we could help ourselves to the salad bar, but this wasn’t just a salad bar. It had sushi, salmon, shrimp, lobster bisque, grilled provolone… who has ever heard of grilled provolone? I could go on and on about the salad bar, but that isn’t even the cool part. At our table, we had these little cards -- on one side it was red and the other green. When you wanted meat you flipped it to green.  Then there were all these waiters that walked all over the restaurant with these huge skewers of meat. Every kind of meat you can imagine. Lamb, beef ribs, pork ribs, sirloin, flank steak, filet mignon, filet mignon wrapped in bacon, and the list goes on. The waiters would just come right up to your table, ask you if you wanted that particular cut of meat, and then cut you a slab! Basically, it was heaven on earth or as Stephen would say “GOAT” (Greatest Of All Time).

Oh yes, of course, there was dessert too! He had the cheesecake and I had the chocolate mousse cake. Needless to say, we rolled out to the car… If you have never eaten at a Brazilian Steakhouse, I would highly recommend Texas de Brazil.

5 stars!

As if that wasn’t enough meat to last us until Christmas, I had Natchitoches Meat Pies on the menu for dinner on Monday! The past two times I’ve cooked for Stephen, it’s been healthy food and he hated it. So I really needed to prove myself in the kitchen. Haha. Luckily, the third time’s a charm! He loved them. I got the recipe from OurBestBites. It was extremely easy to make. No, I did not make the dough from scratch. I bought the box of Pillsbury piecrusts (found at Wal Mart in the canned biscuit section) and they worked perfectly. Also, I'm freezing the leftover pies which makes for an easy future-dinner.

Bon Appetit!

It was the perfect weekend to kick off Spring Break. Excited for some time to relax and catch up on chores!

intentions.

I suppose it's better late than never to share what my intentions are for 2014.

I'm not one to make a "New Year's Resolution." If I want to make a change in my life, I should make the change right then... even if it's July! But there are a few things I want to focus more on this year...

2013 was a big year for me. The key word there was me. I got a new job and bought a house and moved to a new city. It was a lot of change and it caused me to be more self-centered. Not only was there change, but Jesus had a great deal of healing to do on my heart. Now that I'm settled and more adjusted to all the newness, I want 2014 to look a little different.

This year I want to write more letters to people in my life. With technology at my fingertips, I've lost touch with pen and paper. I want to get that touch back! Here's to more snail mail.

This year I want to serve others in new ways. Whether that be helping a friend move or washing their car. I don't know exactly what this will look like, but I want to be attentive and available to help and to serve.

This year I want to cook more. I feel like anytime, in the past 5 years, I've ever thought about what I wish I did more it is cooking. I never end up taking the time to cook and still I continue to complain that I can't (or I'm not good at it). Now it is time for me to learn (or get better).

This year I want to spend more time in the present than in the future. AKA I don't want to plan. Am I contradicting myself by planning not to plan? Maybe a little. Seriously though. I'm so bad about planning too far in the future. I want to live right now not tomorrow or six months from today. Now.

P.S. My lucky number is 7. 2+0+1+4 = 7. Just saying.

december/2013 highlights.

Has December already gone by? Wait. Has the year 2013 already gone by? I cannot believe it. This past month and past year has been full of newness, surprise blessings (I'll explain this in detail later), blogging!, hardships, adventures, laughter, tears, grace, forgiveness, and provision of Jesus Christ.

Here are a few highlights from the twelfth month of the year:

• Stephen asked me to be his date for his company's Christmas party. It was so much fun! I got to meet the guys he works with and his boss. I'm so excited for him and his new job. Jesus blessed him with the perfect job.
• My small group had our annual Christmas party. We did a potluck dinner and I brought boudin. Everyone loved it! We played games and visited. Still can't believe I have such an awesome Christian community to do life with. 
• I think the biggest surprise blessing of the month and year happened a few weeks ago on a regular Tuesday evening. After coming home from work and showering, I came downstairs to a house covered in sewage. Yes, you read that correctly. It was an absolute nightmare and I hope no one ever has to experience it.  Long story short Jesus TOTALLY blessed me through it. I had to have all my floors replaced and luckily, insurance covered all of it and MORE. I was able to upgrade to beautiful hardwood floors and put some money in the bank! Never would I have been able to afford it, IF my house hadn't been covered in crap. Gross. I know. Jesus truly does work in mysterious ways. 
• The sunset picture is one I shot while finishing a run in the park down the road from where I live. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl. I am so thankful I have this park to escape to after a long work day...even if it's in the middle of the city. 

Here are a few highlights from 2013 (most of these have been mentioned in previous blog posts, but I wanted a quick summary of this eventful year!):

January: Started my very first blog "Sojourner Stories." No explanation for the start of this blog other than Jesus laid it on my heart. Praying about a change in my life. New city?

February: Visited with HR in Dallas to discuss a potential teaching job. Praying. Is Dallas the right place?

March: Spring break trip with my mom to the beach & celebrated my birthday. Praying about making a big move to TX.

April: Attended my first real Louisiana festival. More prayer.

May: Attended a teacher job fair in Dallas. Finished my first year teaching. Feverishly praying. Would I be in DeRidder another year?

June: Anxiously waiting for interviews...got two interviews. Got a job! Prayers were answered. Went to Boston and New Hampshire for vacay. Praying.. where would I live?

July: Hosted a baby shower for a dear friend. Signed three contracts of possible future homes, one of them was the answer to my prayers! Packed up all my belongings and...

August: Moved to Dallas. Unpacked all my belongings. Started my new job. Praying for strength. 

September: Faced major spiritual warfare with all the unfamiliarity in my new chapter of life. Struggled with working for huge school district. Found my new home church. :) Praying for more strength & discernment. 

October: Still battling spiritual warfare, but confident Jesus has me right where He wants me. Made new friends at church and joined a small group. Mom and dad came for a visit! Praying in thanksgiving! 

November: Peace was established at my job and confidence restored. Thanksgiving celebration at my house with the whole family and friends. Praying & thankfulness. 

December: Final exams (no fun for students or teachers!). Christmas vacay (fun for students and teachers!). Mom and dad came to the rescue during my house catastrophe. Traveled home to Louisiana for Christmas break. Caught up with old friends. Spent time focusing on the goodness and generosity of my Savior, Jesus Christ. In awe of His power physically, spiritually and mentally over the entire year. Never would I have been able to do an ounce of what He did THROUGH ME without constant prayer and discernment. HE LIVES. 

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities---all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Colossians 1:15-17 (ESV)

harvesting memories.

This is how you know you're an adult: everyone comes to your house (that you own) for Thanksgiving!

Okay...maybe there are other circumstances that make being an adult evident, but this is one... My family and Skye all came here for Thanksgiving. We had such a wonderful time. Skye (hasn't made an appearance on my blog because I hadn't seen her in a year!!:() arrived on Tuesday and my parents and sister arrived on Wednesday. Skye and I were in charge of desserts. We baked a chocolate pumpkin bundt cake. We wanted something pumpkin & festive, but also chocolate. This cake ended up being the perfect combo!

Katelyn: MK attempting to be Aunt Jemima.

 
Our TG couldn't have been more perfect. The sun was shining and the skies were blue. Katelyn's friend Erin also joined us along with the four dogs, Skyler, Chloe, Pita, and Brody. It was a dogsgiving as well as a Thanksgiving.  My momma did a fantastic job on our meal. Complete with ham, corn casserole, mashed potatoes, dirty rice, and rolls. Mmmmmmmm. Thanks momma!

And of course we had to get "holiday pictures."

             

 

After our food coma, we took the pups to the park!

After these past few days, I am overflowing with thankfulness. I am most thankful for my Jesus, my family, my close friends, my home, my church family, my job, and my salvation. Jesus has given abundantly to me this past year. Today I make the choice to be thankful for what He has provided and blessed me with, instead of comparing myself to others and what I don't have. I choose to eat from all the trees in the Garden of Eden, instead of focusing on the one tree Jesus has not provided me the freedom to touch. 

He is so gracious! 

P.S. Skye and I found the most affordable Nativity scene the other night after we ate IN-N-OUT BURGERS (it was Skye and I's first time to eat there>>>"harvesting those memories"). 

Skye: I'm waiting on some guys to come ask us out.
Me: Skye, we are at In-N-Out & we just stuffed our faces. 

Me: Isn't baby Jesus so handsome?!
Skye: I can't see him.
Me: Neither can I. 

back to baylor.

that magical time of year.

Baylor Homecoming weekend truly is a magical time. Pigskin, Friday night bonfire, Saturday morning parade, Saturday night football game...there just isn't any other college HC like it! And getting to spend the entire weekend with one of your BFFs makes it that much more special and awesome. (warning: this post contains more pictures than usual) 

Hannah and I met in Waco Friday night and had dinner at our favorite hole-in-the-wall secret, D's Mediterranean. If you're ever in the Waco area this is the place to eat! Then it was off to the bonfire.

We ran into the Chabot's too:)

After the bonfire, we were pretty sleepy and if you know Hannah and I at all then you know we needed a good nights rest for our run early Saturday morning. So after meeting up with a few of my friends from BU, we went to Chloe's apartment at LL Sams (my old home!) to hit the hay.

On Saturday morning, we went for a lovely run, Starbucks for coffee and HEB for grapes! P.S. I can't live a day anymore without a substantial amount of grapes. Substantial meaning at least 25.

45 degrees was perty chilly.

Saturday afternoon I got to have coffee with my precious, Anna and got to see Sarah Long, Ryan, Philip and Alison!!! My long lost Highland church, CG, El Salvador friends. It was great. My heart was so full. :)

S Long & Anna. 

And Saturday night you know it was game time! Sic' Em.

BU vs Iowa State -- smoked em' 

Confession: we didn't stay for the entire game -- we were winning by a lot and we were starving so we figured it was time for dinner at our second favorite hole-in-the-wall secret, Baris Pizza. But we got salads, haha. They make their own special dressing and it's to die for so a salad is just as good as pizza.

We finished off our Waco Weekend with a Sunday breakfast at Cafe Capp and a walk through campus. Sundays are always the best for strolling through campus...it's quiet and there are more squirrels around than people.

Hannah and I were discussing on our walk how different Baylor's campus is from others we've been to. There is peace and joy that you feel walking along the side walks, swinging on the swings. We shared with each other that (we believe) it's because Baylor is rooted in Christian teachings.  A few days ago, Jesus lead me to a verse in a Psalm that I feel confirmed what we said.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is The Lord." Psalm 33:12 (ESV)

And Baylor has been a blessed nation.

It was such a fun, much needed, weekend getaway. Baylor will forever have a special place in my heart. After all, this is the place that Jesus captured my heart:) And I just loved my time with Hannah. We ran, ate, sang, laughed, cried, and prayed together. Incredibly grateful for her faithful friendship.