Sara Does Dallas

One of my very best friends, Sara, came down from Indiana to visit last month.  It was her second trip to Dallas (she came down to see us this and I was determined to make it as fun and as Dallas-y as possible.  We had the best time!

Celebrations Galore

Last weekend, we headed up to Indiana for a long weekend full of celebrations.  The fun began with a surprise welcome at the airport when I landed.  I miss my small group girls like crazy and seeing them all lined up for me with these homemade signs made me weepy.  I love these ladies!  #lylas

hey there, high school

I flew down to Texas for the weekend to attend my ten-year high school reunion and had a blast.  After arriving in Houston and spending a great day with my mom, my college roommate and I headed off to our favorite restaurant, Chuy's, for the best tex-mex in Texas.  I filled up with tons of chips and queso and a swirl margarita - yummm.

dear monday

Dear Steve, you had your first big work conference in Utah this past weekend.  I was proud of you for going, but even more proud when you texted me a picture of the Olympic bobsled course and said, "Guess what I just did?"  You are a daredevil and I love it.

green, green everywhere

Earlier this month, I roadtripped up to Chicago to spend a girls' weekend with my college roommate and another dear friend over St. Patrick's Day weekend.  I drove up on Thursday evening and spent the night at Gannie's - always a favorite place of mine - before heading into the city on Friday morning to pick Carey up from the airport.  It was so good to see her, and we caught up over a 2+ hour long lunch before hitting Michigan Avenue for some shopping!

danville

This past weekend was great.  On Saturday, my dear friend Larissa and I headed out to my hometown for some classic "fall" activities - pumpkin patch picking, apple cider tasting, and corn maze wandering at Beasley's Orchard.  When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that the orchard was in the middle of celebrating its Heartland Apple Festival, which meant food and activities galore! 

We began our festival tour with some samples from a local winery, which had the most unusual flavored wines.  I enjoyed their Christmas wine, while Larissa's favorite was the Thanksgiving-themed cranberry wine. 

Next up was the General Store.  There were so many pumpkins on display out front that we had to resist the urge to swoop several up then and there.  We waited to get our own pumpkins from the pumpkin patch instead... and our patience definitely paid off.  More on that later. 

It wouldn't be a General Store without some delicious homemade apple cider.

 

Beasley's makes its own jams and jellies in tons of flavors.  My favorite is the Apple Butter, which is dangerously delicious. 

 

Next stop: a hayride to the pumpkin patch!

The pumpkin patch was huge with so many pretty pumpkins to choose from.  Larissa got straight to work picking her pumpkin straight off the vine. 

Success!

We wound up taking home these three little beauties. 

 After a quick break for 50 cent bottled waters (yes, they only cost 50 cents!!), it was time for the infamous corn maze.  The corn maze at Beasley's changes every year, and this year's theme was a hot dog.  We had ten clues to help us get through the maze and made no only a few wrong turns.  All in all, we made it out alive after about 45 minutes.

 

Isn't this lady just gorgeous?  It was her first (non-haunted) corn maze experience and she manuevered it like a pro!

 We worked up quite an appetite after the corn maze, so after a few final purchases at the General Store (including caramel apples, yum) we headed into downtown Danville for lunch at this gem. 

The Mayberry Cafe is Danville's crowning glory and has been around since before I was born.  Hoosiers travel from far and wide to eat there.  It has an Andy Griffith theme (of course), and was a must for our excursion.   

 

We devoured some delicious cheeseburgers and snacked on Mayberry's famous cinnamon butter with bread, while all the meanwhile episodes of the Andy Griffith Show played in the background.  Being in that restaurant and walking around the downtown square really brought me back to my childhood.  It was really special for me to share my sweet hometown with such a beloved friend.  And I think she enjoyed seeing how small-town Hoosiers like to celebrate fall-time.

 Danville, you were wonderful (as always).  Until next time!

 

 

girl talk

Marriage has taught me a lot about myself.  It's taught me how I like to love and be loved, how I tend to fight, what little things matter to me (like putting the toilet seat down, ahem Steve!), what I cherish in friendships both with my spouse and with others, how I actually need alone time every once in a while - seriously, this came as quite a shock to me because I am a huge extrovert -  and when I need to just sit back and relax. 

source

One of the biggest things I have learned over this past almost-year of marriage is the importance of girl friends in my life.  You'd think that once a girl marries her guy, he fills the "best friend" spot in her life and she doesn't need her girl friends as much any more.  Couldn't be more wrong.

When Steve and I first got married, we felt that we had to spend every waking moment together.  We were married now, so of course we should be inseparable, right?  After all, weren't we each other's best friend?  If we ate out for dinner, we did it together.  If we watched a movie, we watched it together.  If we met up with friends, it was for a double date.  Now I am a big fan of quality time - it's actually my primary love language - but this approach to marriage was not sustainable for us.  It wore us both down and actually ended up driving us apart.  I began resenting all the time we spent together, and Steve, the natural introvert, felt overwhelmed by the constant togetherness combined with the pressures of living up to the "married life" standard, and withdrew into himself as a result. 

The truth is, for a marriage to thrive, both husband and wife need to thrive individually in it.  We left no time in our married life for us to continue to grow as individuals, and the effect was that we drained each other.

I am glad that we learned this about ourselves so early on in our marriage.  Sure, it wasn't fun working through this stuff when we were supposed to be in "newlywed bliss."  But I think our relationship is healthy and sustainable because we experienced what was not sustainable (for our relationship, not necessarily for others) so soon after our wedding. 

 

Once we realized what was happening in our relationship, Steve and I both began taking steps to regain a sense of "self."  One of those steps for me was reconnecting with old girl friends of mine.  Setting aside time to grab coffee or dinner with the ladies.  Starting a bible study with two wonderful sisters in Christ.  Calling my long-distance gal pals and checking in more than once every few months.  And let me tell you, I didn't realize how much I had been missing those female friendships until they were back in the works again!   

 

 Last night, I met up with three dear friends at a local taco bar for happy hour and dinner.  There was warm weather, good food and great conversation.  The perfect girls' night.

We all became friends when we worked together - our first law firm jobs out of law school. 
Three of us have since left that firm, but we still stay in touch and now try to get together at least once a month.  We may no longer be work colleagues, but I think we will be great friends for years to come.  I'm so thankful for these ladies.

Girl friends are good for the soul.  I'm so blessed to have such lovely ladies in my life who can walk beside me through my career, my marriage and the general ups and downs of life.  And the best part is, spending time with my girls has helped me grow and mature... which in turn has strengthened and blessed my marriage.  It's a win-win-win!

There's real truth to "girl power."  Cherish your girl friends, ladies.  They are a blessing.

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”
― C.S. Lewis



full heart

I'm back from the best weekend ever in Houston, and my heart is oh so full!  The weekend was packed with sister bonding, a birthday celebration, a tour of my alma mater, sunshine, late bedtimes, reminiscing over the "old days," a brunch double date, introducing Steve to more Houston staples, a gorgeous wedding, a beautiful bride and a hilariously fun reception, (way too much) tex-mex food, and sharing countless hours of stories, smiles, and laughter with my girls.  Best. Weekend.  Ever.

I'll post later in more detail about the trip but I think the whole weekend is summed up quite well by this candid captured by the hubby:

Love these girls.  Never a dull moment :)

Now I'm off to catch up on sleep and get ready for the week.  I hope you had a great weekend!