Guest Room

  After I make the big move to Houston, I expect to have lots of visitors from my home state of Alabama. If I want people to come see me I'm going to have to make sure they have a comfy guest bedroom to feel at home in! Kenny and I love the coast and all things ocean so its only fitting that the guest bedroom will have a coastal theme. I love this collection of fun things. Especially the Spiny Lobster Rug from Anthropologie! Its the inspiration for the rest of the room. 

Lobster rug, Anthropologie; Light ray pattern curtains from West Elm; Otto Fan, Stadler Form; Miniature Thinker Statue, Plastercraft.com; Driftwood ball, West Elm; Funky Prints, Etsy; Hermes Box

Rancho La Puerta Spa Diet

Low-fat Spa Secrets
What makes the low-fat fare at Rancho La Puerta taste so sinfully delicious? Executive chef Bill Wavrin, author of The Rancho La Puerta Cookbook, and the mastermind behind the plan on these pages, shares a few of his secrets.
Get fresh. Wavrin picks vegetables from his garden every day. "As soon as a vegetable is picked, it starts losing its flavor and nutritional value, so freshness matters," he says. If you've got a brown thumb, visit your local farmers' market or find a grocery store that sells great produce.
Spice it up. Experiment with no-fat flavor enhancers, such as chili peppers, garlic, fresh cilantro and other herbs, curry, vinegars or a spritz of lime or lemon.
Try tofu and its cousin, tempeh.  They're healthy, tasty, lower-fat substitutes for meat.
Spare the oil.  When sauteing, use just enough olive or canola oil to barely coat the bottom of the pan.
Countdown-to-Summer Diet Ground Rules

• The calorie counts are roughly the same for each breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so if you don't like one of the meals and want to replace it with one from another day--or would like to repeat a meal two days in a row--that's fine. Switching one breakfast, lunch or dinner for another won't affect how much weight you lose.
• You'll be eating plenty of food at meals, plus one afternoon snack. But if you get hungry at other times of the day, feel free to have a piece of fruit.
• Drink as much water, seltzer or herbal tea as you like, but limit your intake of coffee, tea or diet cola to two to three servings a day.
• Vegetarians can simply omit the meat from the recipes that call for it and substitute half cups of black, pinto, cannelloni or garbanzo beans instead.
• For variety during the second week of the diet, swap any fruit in the plan for one from this list: blueberries, raspberries, papaya, mango, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, apple, orange, grapefruit or banana. Also, vary the bread. Try English muffins, pita pockets, tortillas or 100 percent whole-grain rolls.

Black Tie

Kenny and I recently attended a very exciting event in Houston called the Astros' Wives Black Ties and Baseball Caps. Its a dinner and auction that benefits the Houston Women's Center. We were very lucky to get the chance to go, but didn't get the invite until the day before. Kenny called me from work and I could tell he had something to say but was reluctant to tell me. He said something like, "So we got asked to go to this thing tomorrow, a dinner, its in Minute Maid Park, its hosted by the Astros..." (all this was sounding great to me but then he continued with..) "and its Black Tie." The first thing that I thought was, "I have absolutely nothing appropriate for that type of thing" and I told him so. Well, all he had to do to convince me was utter the magic words, "I'll take you shopping for a dress." (any excuse to go shopping and for a fancy dress...count me in!!) So I replied, "OK! and shoes!"

After he came home from work we headed out to find a dress and there is no better place to shop in Houston than the Galleria. The Galleria is the largest mall I've ever been too and it has all the best stores. There's Tiffany, De Beers, Cartier, Valentino, Saks, Neimans, etc. All of which are too rich for my blood (for now atleast ; ) ).  So I knew the perfect store to go to. As soon as we walked in, we headed straight for BCBGMAXAZRIA. Within 30 minutes of being in there I found a great dress, tried it on, decided it was perfect and bought it. I was shocked that it was so easy to find a dress and I'm sure Kenny was relieved. Little did he know, we would still be in the Galleria for another 2 hours looking for the perfect jewelry and shoes. I found shoes (and they were fantastic) but had no luck with jewelry. So I went home feeling pretty good about what we found but I still felt something missing without the right jewelry. The following morning, I decided I would try my luck on 19th street in the heights at all the antique stores, vintage shops, and boutiques. I walked in and out of every store. I looked in all the jewelry cases in every antique store and nothing jumped out. Luckily in the last store I went to, a cute boutique called Jubilee, I found gold chandelier earrings that would work just fine. I rushed home and started getting ready. The whole time I was feeling jittery because not only was I going to this "fancy" event but I was also meeting Kenny's boss. I wanted to make a good impression.

K got home and we loaded up. We headed to Minute Maid Park. Upon arrival a valet service took our car and we waltzed right in. Everyone was dressed to a T, but I think we fit right in. Kenny looked great in his dark gray suit and black tie. He didn't have time to get a tux and the only other tux option he had was a tux he had from the 10th grade so the dark suit was the way he went. Why he still has that old tux is beyond, sentimental maybe.

We signed in and walked around the corner to see this.

these were taken by the press
i didn't want to seem uncool by getting my camera out

I was getting very excited. We walked down the walk way to get to center field. Some photographer guy took our picture a couple of times, but I still haven't figured out where those pictures went. He probably deleted them after he figured out we're not famous.

Inside, the food was great. Kenny was excited to see some of his baseball idols and I was enjoying looking at what all the women were wearing. The event flew by. It was over in no time at all, and my wine glass was never empty. Needless to say, the service was great. We left feeling very lucky to have gotten the chance to go.

I was too nervous to take pictures inside the event, which i realize was dumb now that its over with, so I don't have any from inside the field. We took a few when we got home.

had a few drinks afterward at a place across from Minute Maid Park

"Take my picture, Kenny"

posing but turned out pretty good

love him

Restoration Hardware

love ++ linen bedding

+French Postal Desk

Fishing Weights

I really need one of these

restorationhardware.com

more decor

Leather Jute rug

Chair for desk

Pinconehill.com

Love the color combo

 

Neat Store

Momastore.com

Decor

http://www.westelm.com/products/grid-tufted-grasscloth-headboard-g105/?pkey=cheadboards-bed-frames

 

http://www.sundancecatalog.com/product/home+decor+catalog/bedroom+furniture/unique+beds/wood+%26+iron+bed.do?sortby=ourPicks

Awesome Stuff

http://www.wisteria.com/

http://www.sundancecatalog.com/

+ grouping of frames

+ chair

White Linen Night

Kenny and I had a great time attending White Linen Night in the Heights this past weekend. This is an event where artists, musicians, restaurants, and vendors in the area come together for a fun filled night. Every one who attends wears white and brings a bottle of wine to walk around with. The event takes place on 19th street. The street is blocked off and there are booths set up with funky art and cool jewelry. After walking around looking at all the awesome stuff we finished the night with dinner at Shade.