Saturday, December 31, 2011
So long 2011
Holy moly this year went by FAST! 2011 was definitely a roller coaster at the Brown house. Daniel's business continued to grow and it looks like 2012 may be a big year for him, I retired (which was the best decision ever), we went to France, Miami, Santa Fe, Dallas, and New York, I started working on my third bachelors degree and we spent lots of time with friends and family. We were definitely blessed in 2011! I think we are both looking forward to 2012 and cannot wait to see what is ahead.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Cowboys!
.....This post will have A LOT of pictures, especially of Miles Austin. Consider yourself warned......
The whole reason we were in Dallas was to see the Cowboys play the Giants. The vendor that offered my dad tickets had a suite, and you do not say no to suite seats. Let me just say, that the food they serve is beyond amazing. On the way to the suite, a lady in the elevator was going on about the macaroni and cheese. She did it no justice. It was beyond amazing and I am still dreaming about going back and eating more. Here are some of the pictures from our adventure.
Heading into the stadium
Christmas tree in the lobby
In the Bombardier suite
The view from our seats
The BEST white truffle macaroni and cheese
Waiting for the game to start
Go Cowboys!
Cowboys cheerleaders
Fancy-shmancy flags
The Cowboys
My angel
Hard at work
I think he said Any Given Sunday, but I was distracted by his beauty
Yay Miles!
Looking amaze on the sideline
They lost but we still had fun
We had so much fun and would love to go back and sit in the suite again (subtle, right?). Stay tuned for my next post when I give every dirty detail of when I met...
The whole reason we were in Dallas was to see the Cowboys play the Giants. The vendor that offered my dad tickets had a suite, and you do not say no to suite seats. Let me just say, that the food they serve is beyond amazing. On the way to the suite, a lady in the elevator was going on about the macaroni and cheese. She did it no justice. It was beyond amazing and I am still dreaming about going back and eating more. Here are some of the pictures from our adventure.
Heading into the stadium
Christmas tree in the lobby
In the Bombardier suite
The view from our seats
The BEST white truffle macaroni and cheese
Waiting for the game to start
Go Cowboys!
Cowboys cheerleaders
Fancy-shmancy flags
The Cowboys
My angel
Hard at work
I think he said Any Given Sunday, but I was distracted by his beauty
Yay Miles!
Looking amaze on the sideline
They lost but we still had fun
We had so much fun and would love to go back and sit in the suite again (subtle, right?). Stay tuned for my next post when I give every dirty detail of when I met...
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
The Big D (and I do mean Dallas)
My dad's job definitely has some perks. Growing up we got to travel a lot and got lots of tickets to different concerts. This year, one of his vendors offered to give him four tickets to the Cowboys game versus the Jets. So naturally he invited Daniel, who love the Cowboys, and me, who loves Miles Austin. We hadn't been to Dallas for almost two years, so we were very excited to get to go visit and see some friends.
We flew in Saturday night and went out to eat with my parents in Grapevine. We ate at Esparza's, which is always delish and their margaritas are even better.
The Browns
My dad being ridiculous
My mom agreeing that he's ridiculous
The fish tacos which were good minus the random BBQ sauce
Pretty lights in downtown Grapevine
We flew in Saturday night and went out to eat with my parents in Grapevine. We ate at Esparza's, which is always delish and their margaritas are even better.
The Browns
My dad being ridiculous
My mom agreeing that he's ridiculous
The fish tacos which were good minus the random BBQ sauce
Pretty lights in downtown Grapevine
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Vega adventures
I have a confession. November got away from me and I never really planned a date night. I feel terrible so I decided that since we have a "No Date November" that we would be doing a "Double Date December." That's right, ladies and gentleman, I decided to plan two dates for December, in addition to our trip to NYC.
Our first date was this past weekend. What do you want to do on a small town Friday night? You head to an even smaller town to have dinner, obviously. There is a restaurant in Vega that is ran by a woman who was on some CMT show. It is supposed to be really good and we have talked about going there before, but have never done it. I thought it would be fun to go check it out and that is exactly what we did.
We made the hour-long drive and arrived at Boot Hill. It is decorated like an old saloon and all the waitresses are dressed like saloon girls, which was interesting. We were one of three tables on the restaurant side, but there were lots of people in the bar.
Our bucket o' fried crap
My little bit of green
The gigantic chicken fried steak
It looks like I ate a lot but the plate was really big, I swear
Daniel looking cray cray
Date night success!
The food was good and we had a lot of fun on our little adventure. Hopefully Double Date December will make up for No Date November.
Our first date was this past weekend. What do you want to do on a small town Friday night? You head to an even smaller town to have dinner, obviously. There is a restaurant in Vega that is ran by a woman who was on some CMT show. It is supposed to be really good and we have talked about going there before, but have never done it. I thought it would be fun to go check it out and that is exactly what we did.
We made the hour-long drive and arrived at Boot Hill. It is decorated like an old saloon and all the waitresses are dressed like saloon girls, which was interesting. We were one of three tables on the restaurant side, but there were lots of people in the bar.
Our bucket o' fried crap
My little bit of green
The gigantic chicken fried steak
It looks like I ate a lot but the plate was really big, I swear
Daniel looking cray cray
Date night success!
The food was good and we had a lot of fun on our little adventure. Hopefully Double Date December will make up for No Date November.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Christmas at the Browns
I know everyone is saying this, but I really cannot believe that Christmas is in three weeks and the year is almost over. Christmas is my favorite time of the year, not only because of presents, and I love all the decorations. I have gotten so many great ideas from Pinterest and was very excited to decorate.
On Thursday, our friend and interior designer Jennifer came to town to help us decorate. I love having her around because she helps validate my decisions and points me in the right direction when it comes to decorating. We decided to have her help because I am hosting the dessert portion of a progressive dinner and Christmas is big business in small towns. This dinner also gave us the motivation to redo our guest bathroom, which I will post pictures of once we get our new shower curtain.
Here are a couple pictures of Jennifer's work. She is amazing and we lucky to have found her.
Our tree
The mantle
A fun wreath
Greenery in front of the television
And on the dining room table
French door decorations
Merry Christmas from the Browns!
On Thursday, our friend and interior designer Jennifer came to town to help us decorate. I love having her around because she helps validate my decisions and points me in the right direction when it comes to decorating. We decided to have her help because I am hosting the dessert portion of a progressive dinner and Christmas is big business in small towns. This dinner also gave us the motivation to redo our guest bathroom, which I will post pictures of once we get our new shower curtain.
Here are a couple pictures of Jennifer's work. She is amazing and we lucky to have found her.
Our tree
The mantle
A fun wreath
Greenery in front of the television
And on the dining room table
French door decorations
Merry Christmas from the Browns!
Thanksgiving recap
We had such a fab Thanksgiving! My whole family came, which was lots of fun. This also meant that we did not have to travel, which was a real treat. Our small town doesn't have tons going for it, so we are usually the ones that get to travel for holidays, but not this year.
The best part of Thanksgiving, besides family, is the food and we had LOTS of it! I made a breakfast casserole and then my mom, sister, and I got busy in the kitchen. It was definitely more of my mom and sister getting busy and me wandering in and out. We had a turkey (of course!), mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, and green bean bundles for dinner. Everything was good and best of all we had lots of leftovers. I'll give you one guess what we've been eating at the Brown house. For dessert, I made a butter cake and my mom made a pumpkin pie and a pumpkin cheesecake.
The spread
My very beige plate
We were blessed that our family got to come to town for Thanksgiving and definitely gave lots of thanks for all the blessings in our lives!
The best part of Thanksgiving, besides family, is the food and we had LOTS of it! I made a breakfast casserole and then my mom, sister, and I got busy in the kitchen. It was definitely more of my mom and sister getting busy and me wandering in and out. We had a turkey (of course!), mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, and green bean bundles for dinner. Everything was good and best of all we had lots of leftovers. I'll give you one guess what we've been eating at the Brown house. For dessert, I made a butter cake and my mom made a pumpkin pie and a pumpkin cheesecake.
My very beige plate
We were blessed that our family got to come to town for Thanksgiving and definitely gave lots of thanks for all the blessings in our lives!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Recipe round-up
Here are a few of the new recipes we've been whipping up in the Brown kitchen!
Crockpot Potato Soup
We gave this a solid A. It was so easy to make and there weren't very many ingredients required, which is always nice. I topped my soup with sour cream, bacon and cheese. It served four and still had some leftover and it tasted good the next day.
Mississippi Sin Dip
I made this to take over to a friend's house for a day of college football games. I think everyone would give it an A+. I have to say that this is another super easy recipe and the presentation is very impressive. I will definitely be making this again!
French Chicken Broccoli Supreme
We gave this a B. It involves making a roux, which I do not enjoy. However I learned that the secret it to keep whisking. Anyway, it was pretty tasty and I would probably make it again.
Hasselback Garlic Cheesy Bread
I made this to go with lasagna while my parents where in town. Instead of making the bread from scratch, I bought a loaf of french bread. It was a huge time saver and turned out pretty good. I would give it an A. I would like to try it again and make the bread from scratch, but that sounds very intimidating.
Breakfast Casserole
This was another recipe that I made while my family was in town for Thanksgiving and it is definitely one of my new favorite breakfast recipes. I give it an A++! It was so good and super easy. I already had all of the ingredients in my fridge and it took about 5 to 10 minutes to prepare. I also loved how simple it was and plan to make it again very soon.
Rolo Pretzel Bites
I don't make a lot of sweets because I would much rather waste calories on carbs than chocolate. I decided to try this recipe because I liked the salty/sweet combination and because it took less than 15 minutes start to finish. I would give them an A. They are super easy and I would recommend them if you need to whip up a quick dessert for a holiday party.
We gave this a solid A. It was so easy to make and there weren't very many ingredients required, which is always nice. I topped my soup with sour cream, bacon and cheese. It served four and still had some leftover and it tasted good the next day.
I made this to take over to a friend's house for a day of college football games. I think everyone would give it an A+. I have to say that this is another super easy recipe and the presentation is very impressive. I will definitely be making this again!
We gave this a B. It involves making a roux, which I do not enjoy. However I learned that the secret it to keep whisking. Anyway, it was pretty tasty and I would probably make it again.
I made this to go with lasagna while my parents where in town. Instead of making the bread from scratch, I bought a loaf of french bread. It was a huge time saver and turned out pretty good. I would give it an A. I would like to try it again and make the bread from scratch, but that sounds very intimidating.
Breakfast Casserole
This was another recipe that I made while my family was in town for Thanksgiving and it is definitely one of my new favorite breakfast recipes. I give it an A++! It was so good and super easy. I already had all of the ingredients in my fridge and it took about 5 to 10 minutes to prepare. I also loved how simple it was and plan to make it again very soon.
Rolo Pretzel Bites
I don't make a lot of sweets because I would much rather waste calories on carbs than chocolate. I decided to try this recipe because I liked the salty/sweet combination and because it took less than 15 minutes start to finish. I would give them an A. They are super easy and I would recommend them if you need to whip up a quick dessert for a holiday party.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Santa Fe
Last month we decided to take a weekend trip to Santa Fe with some of our friends. We decided to leave early so we could have our date night in there.
Santa Fe is about a five hour drive from where we live, but seems like it is in a whole different country. I'm not going to say New Mexico is my favorite state, but I love Santa Fe. They have the best restaurants and it is always nice to get away.
I would post the pictures I took of our date night, but I got a new phone and all my pictures were on my old one. Fail. We ate dinner at the Galisteo Bistro & Wine Bar. It was super cozy and you could see in the kitchen, which was interesting. My one take away was that the chef didn't really do much. My kind of job. Just kidding. I had the seafood pasta romesco. It was okay. Sometimes I am very disappointed in my food choices, but I get easily overwhelmed.
After dinner we went to the Marble Brewery on the plaza. I once again made poor choices and ordered a supper hoppy beer. This wouldn't have been a big deal, but in Santa Fe there is apparently a new three drink limit. I'm not saying I wanted to get bombed, but if I am walking everywhere, let me drink (especially if a Tech game is on).
Our friends met up with once they got to town and of course we had to foray out to the casino on the rez. I do not like to gamble. I would rather shop, but our friends really really like to gamble and I am a supportive friend.
Meghan and I at the hotel
The next day we shopped and watched the Tech game, which was a beating. For dinner we decided to go to Rio Chama, which is where Meghan and Jake got married. We got quarantined to our own room, which was probably a good thing. The food was fab, as always, and they have the neatest cigar room, or VIP Lounge, if you are me.
Dinner at the restaurant where Meghan and Jake had their reception
The Browns (I look a little sketch but I blame lighting)
We had some much fun and were very thankful that it wasn't snowing. That happened to us last year and it was the pits. I think we have decided that next time we go to Santa Fe, it will be in the summer.
Santa Fe is about a five hour drive from where we live, but seems like it is in a whole different country. I'm not going to say New Mexico is my favorite state, but I love Santa Fe. They have the best restaurants and it is always nice to get away.
I would post the pictures I took of our date night, but I got a new phone and all my pictures were on my old one. Fail. We ate dinner at the Galisteo Bistro & Wine Bar. It was super cozy and you could see in the kitchen, which was interesting. My one take away was that the chef didn't really do much. My kind of job. Just kidding. I had the seafood pasta romesco. It was okay. Sometimes I am very disappointed in my food choices, but I get easily overwhelmed.
After dinner we went to the Marble Brewery on the plaza. I once again made poor choices and ordered a supper hoppy beer. This wouldn't have been a big deal, but in Santa Fe there is apparently a new three drink limit. I'm not saying I wanted to get bombed, but if I am walking everywhere, let me drink (especially if a Tech game is on).
Our friends met up with once they got to town and of course we had to foray out to the casino on the rez. I do not like to gamble. I would rather shop, but our friends really really like to gamble and I am a supportive friend.
The next day we shopped and watched the Tech game, which was a beating. For dinner we decided to go to Rio Chama, which is where Meghan and Jake got married. We got quarantined to our own room, which was probably a good thing. The food was fab, as always, and they have the neatest cigar room, or VIP Lounge, if you are me.
Dinner at the restaurant where Meghan and Jake had their reception
We had some much fun and were very thankful that it wasn't snowing. That happened to us last year and it was the pits. I think we have decided that next time we go to Santa Fe, it will be in the summer.
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