Road Trip Update!

Adrian and I had the best road trip last week! We left town about 7:00 a.m. and not too long after we were on "small highways" - leaving the interstate and the big city behind. It felt nice.

We did indeed travel through Glenrose (with many odes to the Dinosaur park there), Walnut Springs (where we saw goats hopping all around on fallen trees in one yard) and then to Hico. At about a quarter past nine it was still mostly asleep but the people in the plumbing/general store were very nice to let us stop and use their restroom and we took a brisk walk up and down the main street in the cool morning air. There were lots of really cute shops so we ended up seeing the town as the shops first opened and I found a couple of fun finds - a pretty little bracelet for only $7 and an old bed spring that I intend to use as a fun "Christmas tree" half price! We talked with the lady in the antique store before getting back on the road.

We really enjoyed the countryside and all the tiny towns we were passing through. About noon we began getting close to Colorado Bend State Park, the reason for our longish, roundabout way to Houston to visit my family.



There was a LONG dirt road to get to the entrance to the park that used to be a private ranch and the ranger's station where we needed to get a day permit was about 4 miles into the park. Mostly it was brown and scrubbish but the ranger's station was right on the Colorado River and it was very green and beautiful.


We went hiking and it was beautiful and peaceful. During the hike, he asked me to marry him and I said YES!

What a wonderful, wonderful day!!! We laughed and talked and ate our picnic (although I wasn't actually hungry anymore!)



I couldn't wait to get home so we made a quick stop for dinner in Elgin at the City Cafe and got home quickly to share the news with my family in person.



We began calling his family as we drove into Houston and it was so much fun to tell people what they've been waiting to hear! I got to tell my parents, brother and sister-in-law, grandparents and one aunt and uncle in person! The others were out of town but I'm thankful for cell phones!

This is a very exciting time that God has brought us to in His perfect timing. It is very evident to us that He has been at work in our lives and orchestrated this moment. We are so excited to be entering this new phase of our lives and I wanted to share it with you out here in blogland. It's funny how I wanted to update my blog everyday over spring break but once we got engaged I didn't want to share it with the whole internet (not even knowing who all reads my blog) before I got to share with all the people I wanted to "in real life". ;)


A more momentous road trip I don't know if I'll ever again have and I am so thankful to Adrian and to God for orchestrating this "perfect for me" proposal. May God bless you and yours as well! Kelly

Road Trip

Adrian and I are headed out on a road trip this week, taking the long way down to Houston to visit my family for Easter. We'll be taking Hwy 67 out of town and making our way to Colorado Bend State Park for some hiking. Then we'll drive down to Houston. The city limit signs along our way will say things like Nemo, Rainbow, Walnut Springs, Glenrose, Cranfills Gap, Hico, Hamilton, Lampassas, Florence, Schwertner, Granger, Circleville, Butler, Paige, Round Top, Carmine, Burton, Zionville, etc. If you've driven through or are familiar with this part of Texas and know of a fabulous malt shop, cute park, antique shop, world's best hole in the wall restaurant, etc., I'd love to hear about it! Kelly

when life gives you lemons . . .

go on a fantastic date!

Adrian and I are in the middle of taking ballroom dancing lessons but a few weeks ago he hurt his ankle on the day of our lesson. We'd been looking forward to it as well as a dance on Friday night and dancing at my friend Sarah's wedding on Saturday so it was a bummer to us both.

I had open house on Thursday and afterward we went on a special date! On a school night!
I really wanted to take him to one of my favorite Italian places, Nero's, down on lower Greenville. Red and pink twinkle lights strung over the tables, their pink bread, some of the best gnocchi in Dallas, etc., etc.! I love that place! I even went there for my birthday one year.

Well, we got down there and it was gone. In it's place sat yet another bar, like they need another on lower Greenville. Anyway, we kept our chins up and after a little bit of wandering and looking and racking our brains and discarding options, we thought to look on my friend Katie's blog
via the magnificent iphone because she periodically posts about restaurants she likes and she has great taste!!

So, thanks to Katie, we ended up at Olivella's
and had such a lovely dinner in a wonderfully romantic and nice atmostphere that was quiet and friendly with flickering candles and the doors flung open to the spring evening. God reminded me to not focus on what can't be but what can!

half demolished fantastic salad!

hooray for estate sale season!

I have had some very enjoyable experiences the past couple of weekends picking up some thrifted/vintage treasures! Last weekend Adrian and I decided spur of the moment to get out of town and drive in the country. We went up to Decatur to eat barbecue and shells and cheese and hot rolls! YUM! He was kind enough to detour through Keller on the way out of town so I could stop at a couple of antiques places. After we ate our barbecue, we drove through small towns and country areas and stopped at an adorable little park with one of the merry-go-rounds from our childhood, no plastic fancy play equipment here. We also stopped at the most random thrift store I've ever been to (pretty small, hardly any clothes (which suited me just fine!), lots of books and miscellany and we found the most fantastic malt shop! We got a chocolate malt and a cherry milkshake and both were fantastic!

I actually got this little yellow bird in a ziploc of Christmas ornaments back in December for 25 cents for the bag! He's raggedy but sweet I think.

You may remember some of these blocks and I got the old sprinkler head for only 79 cents at the random thrift store. I realize it's appeal may not be readily apparent but after having seen some awfully cute displays at stores where they are selling various sprinkler attachments for $7-$20, I felt compelled to scoop this one up and take a go at it! Who knows what potential it may reach. :)

This is my new cart that I will NOT be taking to Canton! I realize it looks like a "Canton cart" but I do not like those carts whose owners block the aisles with them and run over my toes!

I got this cart this past Saturday when my friend Julie and I went to an estate sale at a home in the quite well to do area of town. It was on the back patio filled with various gardening tools, etc. and it was just calling my name. I don't know exactly what I will do with it but it just seems one of those relics of a different time or place or lifestyle or something and for a dollar fifty, I can figure out later what I want to do with it exactly because I'm pretty sure I would have thought back on it and wished I'd gotten it and come up with some fabulous idea once I was away from there! AND, it folds up taking up hardly any space in the meantime, so why not??!

My thoughts so far are to possibly set it in the corner of my bedroom with a bow on the handle and plump pillows inside. I could also contain my pots and other patio gardening supplies in it on my balcony. Any ideas from you guys?

These are the notions I was given for free at the estate sale with the other things I bought. I like the old fashioned look and silky textured feel of seem binding like this and there's something about old yellow lace that I like. I also bought some in Fredericksburg several years ago along with the yellow cotton the little bird is sitting in above.

now this little guy who photographed so well I think was a steal! do you see that price tag?
You can see here that the last deer I bought for "my herd" as Adrian calls it was $3. And I thought that one was a bargain. I was so afraid that Martha Stewart's little magazine article in her Christmas issue was going to drive up prices but I'm still finding good ones!

This one matches two that Adrian's sister bought me for Christmas off of ebay so now they'll have a friend. Now if you're like some members of my family, you wonder what in the world I even do with plastic deer and why I'd want them. Well, here and here and here are a few examples.

This little trio whose photo turned out too dark wouldn't let me leave the estate sale without them. They're not even my colors necessarily but I've never seen anything like these hand appliqued and embroidered little towels.

I got this book at the estate sale this weekend for a mere dollar fifty and it is hard to find a good black book to use in displays. One of my favorite antique malls in McKinney sells them for around $10 I think but who wants to pay that for a display? Plus I really liked the title of this one. I think it can have a spiritual connotation.

The saucers were a steal for hanging in my black, white and pink room for a dollar a piece. I got them at a shop in Keller. I never knew there were so many cute shops there. If you live in the area, I recommend a trip!

These little candy molds will look so cute at individual place settings with jelly beans or mints in them I think. Anyone have any more ideas for them?

I got a whole box of these fun old flashcards for less than a dollar at the random thrift store.

If you have any fun ideas for any of my new treasures, I'd love to hear them! Kelly

the rest of the snow

ahhh . . . spring break! I finally feel like I have time to blog! I have had so many posts that I've wanted to do so I'm just gonna do a little catch up. These are some pics of the second snow we had week before last on 3-6-08 of all things! March and there's snow in Texas!

Here it is coming down!

Here is the snow and the blooming trees! They seem to have come through unscathed though and are greening up quite nicely!

in like a lion . . .

It snowed last night!!! Our first snowfall of the year (well, I think it may have snowed once when I was out of town). It was BEAUTIFUL! Huge flakes!! Adrian and I went down to the hot tub (visible in the back of the picture with the steam rising, if you look closely) and it felt great to be warm and cool at the same time! We met a family down there from Alaska who were in their element! What a delightful night! Thank You, God for blessings in each and every day. Please help us to always have eyes to see them! Amen.

what to read?

I'd like to check a good book out of the library. Any suggestions? Just for reference, I like a book that's squeaky clean, pure and wholesome, doesn't have to be Chrisitan though. I can't handle anything too scary. :) I like adventure, biographical novels, chick lit, travel memoirs . . . I've already read the Mitford series (and love it) and Jan Karon's newest, Home to Holly Springs. I've read most of Francine Rivers and I don't like Karen Kingsbury oh so much. (I know, I'm like the only person on the planet I think.) Anyway, looking forward to your suggestions! Thanks! Kelly

Move over P.F. Chang's

Happy Leap Day!

Lettuce Wraps . . . ! Can't you just taste 'em? Adrian cooked dinner for me last night (am I a blessed girl or what?!) and made homemade lettuce wraps for me from the P.F. Chang's recipe that he found online. They were soooooo good! They tasted JUST LIKE we were at the restaurant only possibly a little better! We even got to leave out the yucky blucky* mushrooms since we both detest fungus. (well, unless it's blue cheese for me ;)

Today we had the leftover sauce over salad greens and I added peanuts to mine. Yum, yum, yum! I can taste it now. Is 10:30 p.m. too late to eat a salad?

* I learned the term yucky blucky from Junie B. Jones ;)