Napa Day 1 - Travel Day

Travel days are always interesting, especially when you're going somewhere new. We got up early and headed to the airport and were lucky enough to drop in about four minutes before two busloads of nearly senior adults got in line to check in with American Airlines. Whew. Disaster escaped. The ride to DFW was uneventful as was the ride to Sacramento. Although each time we were waiting to board planes, there were kids all around telling "jokes"*, throwing fits because they "WANT HASHBROWNS!" or just talking incessantly to annoy their older sister.

*Whatever happened to "knock knock" jokes that are actually fairly humorous? The jokes this dude was telling were more like 10 minute stories that made no sense at all. I digress...

We picked up our car, made the hour-drive to Napa and met our innkeeper (who actually lives next door). We got our stuff together and decided that even though it was only 4:45 local time, we were ready to eat dinner. We were so early, in fact, that we had to sit out in the car and wait for the recommended restaurant to open. Well, that was after we discovered an indoor Public Market that we will be visiting later if only for the gourmet cupcake stand :). The Pearl had several locals (which is always a good sign) and the owner/chef was visible at all times. Good stuff. After grabbing some groceries for the week, we made it back to the house and forced ourselves to stay awake until 9 PM local time so we wouldn't be those people that eat at 5:30 and are in bed by 8...

No pictures from travel day...and actually, you may not get pictures at all until we get back and I can use the camera cord that was left inadvertedly on the coffee table...

ONE little Monkey...

I'm finally getting a chance to sit after a very busy weekend and [already-completed] work week. Friday night, we had our small group over for game night and I only got one picture. I always want to take pictures of the food and decorations, but I always forget. Either way, we had fun!

Saturday was Aggie football day at Kyle Field and by golly, we beat the Iowa State Cyclones after a very surprising victory over the Texas Tech Raiders the week prior. I don't know what my problem is, but I haven't taken any pictures this football season. Oh well.

Sunday, we drove (ahem, rode and napped) up to Irving for our nephew's first birthday party. Naturally, he was taking the best nap ever when we arrived and finally woke up about 20 minutes after the official party start-time. He came down the stairs looking like this:

Then they stripped him down to his diaper, gave him a cupcake and at first wasn't a fan. Then he decided it was GREAT!

Using Uncle Brad as a jungle gym:

We had so much fun and although neither Brad nor I could hardly function this week because of exhaustion, we wouldn't have missed it for the world!

We leave for Napa on Saturday so stay tuned for the journaling of our adventures in Wine Country!

Gloomy turns Happy!

It's raining today. And has been all day. I have a few errands that need to be run, but I really don't want to get out in this weather (FYI - I don't dig tornado watches). And it's not helping my gloomy mood. It's been one of those weeks where nothing seems to go well and no matter what I do (bake, craft, eat, sleep, cry), it remains gloomy. However, I am bound and determined to suck it up before tomorrow because I have a FUN, exciting weekend ahead of me. First up, small group Bible study game night at our apartment (hence the baking) tomorrow night. Saturday brings Aggie football with a special twist -- hanging out with the in-laws for a few minutes in between tailgate stops. And it's Halloween! Then Sunday is our sweet nephew's very first birthday party. We are so excited to see handsome Cal as he wobbles around on his feet and gets all the attention on Sunday (as if that's new!).



Callum, I know you can't read yet, but Uncle Brad and Aunt Meg wish you a VERY HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY and can't believe it's almost been a year since we first met you!!!

First Digital Anything!

I've never done this before, but I just spent about an hour and a half coming up with what I think is a really cute Christmas Card. I still need to figure out how to insert the picture without losing it's sharpness (which means I might need to convince Brad that I need the latest version of PhotoShop). I used a FREE (!) kit from Shabby Princess and am actually working on another option as we speak. What do you think?






The picture would actually lie horizontally underneath the three snowflake brads and above the "Happy Holidays".

SUYL: Tailgating/Sports Teams

"We are the Aggies; the Aggies are We. True to each other as Aggies can be..."

Aggies always do things just a little different...a little bigger if you will. When I started my freshman year at Texas A&M eight years ago, tailgating wasn't really a big deal. Sure, you might see some ticket holders out with their card table and chairs, a small packable grill and some sausages, but usually the tents were only for Corps Reunions. Well, somehow in the last seven years, things have really picked up and you'd be hard-pressed to find an empty lot of grass anywhere near Kyle Field to throw up a tent, tables and chairs.

This is my fourth season as a season ticket holder and while still a work in progress, we've tailgated before (or after) every home game (and even some away games).

These pictures are from pre-post game activities:

This was taken last October. Leah had just celebrated her first anniversary, I was getting married in 40-something days and Michelle had just gotten engaged a week or two earlier. Love these girls!


Jay always finds girls. Always:


The Band and Corps march in. And let me tell you, when you're standing on the grassy median when they split off around you, it. Is. Incredible. Aggie fan or not:

This was taken the same day as the one of Leah, Michelle and I. These are our "we're getting married in 40-something days" faces:

These are from during the game:

The seniors from the Corps of Cadets welcome the football team into the game with a boot line:

We almost always have a flyover:

We use the 12th Man towels that are normally waving fiercely in the air as sun shields:

No matter the outcome of the game when time runs out, we ALWAYS win halftime with our nationally famous band:

We yell. A lot:

One of my favorite memories as a student at A&M was my freshman year. We all remember where we were when the attacks of September 11 took place. Well, I was a freshman just trying to get a little extra sleep one morning when my roommate woke me up to tell me the news. 11 days later, we had a home football game scheduled and my dad was planning on coming. I remember the buzz around campus the few days before about a group of students trying to get together a way to celebrate America. It was supposed to end up that the third deck all wore red, the middle deck white and the bottom deck blue. Our tickets were on the 3rd deck of the student side so I bought a red "Standing for America" t-shirt and told my dad to bring a red shirt with him. I will never forget the tears in our eyes and the gasps we both experienced when we walked out of the third deck walkway and saw this:

(Disclaimer: unfortunately, this is not my photograph, and was instead taken from the seats on the Former Student side. I was actually sitting on the opposite side and I think if you squint really hard you could probably find me somewhere between the 3rd and 4th sets of light on the third deck right next to the lady's American flag. Hehe. Regardless, it was awesome)

And last but not least, we sing the Aggie War Hymn at our wedding receptions:

I can't even begin to tell you about all the traditions at A&M because you and I would both be here for days. But I will say that whether national champions or mediocre barely-a-winning-season, the Ags can pack in 70,000+ fans at every home football game! That's why I LOVE being an Aggie -- true team dedication!

Gig 'em, Aggies! A-WHOOP!

Today's Project

I found these old cue/spelling cards in Warrenton last week so this was today's project.

It goes well in our black/off-white bedroom next to one of our wedding pictures.

I'm not done with the dresser yet. It needs some height added to it with those candlesticks and eventually a mirror. And there's another great picture behind the new project that needs to find a place to call home (probably on the wall somewhere). What d'ya think?

New Furniture!

I spent the beginning of last week in Round Top and its surrounding areas hunting for the perfect antiques that would complete our bedroom. And I found them!

EXHIBIT A: Bedside tables and sitting bench (Please excuse the unpacked bags)

I am planning on getting a cushion made for the bench at the foot of the bed.

EXHIBIT B: HUGE dresser (that may one day act in its true role - a buffet)

We had so much fun and I think I've become an addict, as I'm already looking forward to April's show!