11 More Days!

That's right...until my birthday! AND until Ole Miss plays LSU this season. I will be going up to God's land in Oxford, MS, to visit friends and boyfriend and celebrate my turning 24!
I feel like I'm older than 24, for some reason it just sounds a lot younger than I feel. I guess a full time job, my first one at that, will do that to you.

Our Rodeo Committee posse (the Rookies!)
back row: Me, Jennifer, David Hale (Rookie Team Captain)
front row: Mackenzie, Lindsey, Rebecca, Catherine, Shanna and Caroline

Meetings twice a month...more of a "happy hour" and then we all usually go out for Mexican food and margaritas (sangria margaritas!) afterwards. I love the Houston life!

All in the Family

So Houston Rebel Club (Ole Miss Alumni from/in Houston) has become a very big part of my life. Keeping up ole Southern tradition but with the city-twist of the big H. It's so great to be surrounded by amazing friends who share the school spirit so far away from the Hotty Toddiness of the Grove. Anyway, they're my new close circle of friends and I am so blessed to have them in my life. We all joined a committee together, the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo "Souvenir Program Committee"

Rebecca, Lindsey, Catherine, Shanna and Lauren (and me in the background!)
Us at Armadillo Palace for Houston Rebel Club August Happy Hour
8/25/11

1 down...3 to go!

My sister Rachel is getting married! Whaaaaaat!? She came into town a few weeks ago for a small engagement "bruncheon". Beautiful ladies, close friends of the family, god parents and family (all girls of course) came to celebrate Crockett #2's prenuptial bliss.

Camille, Mom, Rachel, me and Evelyn
(always 'in order' except when mom doesn't want to be on the end ;)

Bride-to-be & her MOH

Congratulations Rachel and Greg (Lil'O)...Y'all will make pretty babies xoxo

St Arnold's

I spent Saturday afternoon at St. Arnold's Brewery with Catherine, Mackenzie and Brian. It was my 2nd time and their 1st! Of course we had to bring the inevitable JENGA game, look how intense it got!

Bloomin' Bread

I will make this tonight and I will love it....

Bloomin' Onion Bread

Source: The Changing Table

1 unsliced loaf sourdough bread

12-16 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, thinly sliced

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup finely diced green onion

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the bread lengthwise and widthwise without cutting through the bottom crust. This can be a little tricky going the second way but the bread is very forgiving.

Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Insert cheese slices between cuts. Combine butter, onion, and poppy seeds. Drizzle over bread. Wrap in foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Unwrap the bread and bake 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Little Ole Misser

I I went to Oxford this passed weekend to visit Bartow, flew in Friday afternoon and his wonderful self and noble steed (F150) drove to Jackson to pick me up. I was there til Monday evening. I had a BLAST! I love him so much and it's crazy / great how much we are realizing more and more that we want to spend the rest of our lives together.
I went to Oxford this passed weekend to visit Bartow. Flew in Friday afternoon (had a half day Friday!) and his wonderful self and noble steede (F150) drove 2.5hours to Jackson to pick me up. I was there til Monday evening. I had a BLAST! I love him so much and it's crazy / great how all this time apart is maturing our relationship and I just want to start my life with him already!
*Cue Beatles' "Wouldn't it be Nice"*

Whilst in O-town, some shennanigans went down. Shennanigans including Bartow shooting headphones:

Abigail dancing around in her new home donning her new accessories

And I ran into a lot of people I was so glad to see!! Like this little lady:

Leslie and I at The Cellar Friday night

And wouldn't you believe it, Abi and her boyfriend Justin were at lunch Sunday afternoon and ran into Bartow! Well, a blonde version of him at least:

Creepily similar posture, face, stature, style, cheeks as my boyfriend...

It was a great weekend!!

An American in Paris

So I may or may not be going to Paris in April with Bartow!! I am so excited! His mom is renting an apartment and living there to engulf herself in the culture and speak the language...of course to shop and eat and be fabulous as well. Dee (Bartow's dad) is visiting her for a week and she wants Bartow and I visit also, and if all 4 of us are there at the same time, how much fun that would be!
I'll keep you updated though on whether or not I can go or will go, and if so, when I'll go!

Weekend w/ Bartow

Bartow came to visit Houston! (& me) I took him to Top Gun Range where we rented a Baretta 9mm handgun and a Thompson Class III (tommy gun!) It was so fun and exhilerating! It was super hot last weekend and of course my car's AC decided not to work, who knows if it'll ever turn back on, so Bartow was not being suaded very easily as to why he should move to Houston. Anyway, below is the after shot of our tommy gun fiasco! Can you see where the power of the gun made me trail a little to the right?

Wine Time

I'm volunteering at Wine & Food Week in the Woodlands this weekend! Yall should check it out
here

I am so excited! Know why??.....BARTOW'S COMING IN TOWN!!!! Next weekend the 17th he's flying in from Hobby and will be here all weekend! Yay! I miss him so much.

Raise your hand if you're in love!

Be Spontaneous

As some of you may not know, I took a SUPER spontaneous trip to Oxford, MS this weekend A-to surprise my boyfrien and B-to see all my friends one last time in one spot for graduation. People ask why on earth would I make that 9 hour trip for a weekend and not only a weekend, because I had to go to work 8-5 Friday, so I was really only there Saturday and Sunday morning. Answer is, this is my life and I am living it how I want to live it. Yeah, the drive was 9 hours but spending even 10 minutes with Bartow is worth every mile of that trip. I don't want to live my life restricted to being scared or worried about gas money or waiting for a long weekend or holiday to do something fun. Have yall ever thought about that?
What is something you have always wanted to do? What is something you have been putting off for that one long weekend?
I'm just saying, let's not be those people who sit around and wait. Let's not be those people who live for the weekends. Don't be afraid to stay young. Since when is being young a bad thing? Young doesn't have to mean 'immature'. When we were young we climbed trees, snuck into people's backyards/swimming pools, ate candy, ran around sweating and singing and meeting new friends daily. Don't grow up into an old fart. Happiness is controlled by YOU, not him, not her, not them, not mom, not your boss.....YOU.
Love yall!

I stumbled upon this quote and thought it was perfect for everyone I know:

Look at you. You’re young….4:12pm May 19th, 2010
“Look at you. You’re young. And you’re scared. Why are you so scared? Stop being paralyzed. Stop swallowing your words. Stop caring what other people think. Wear what you want. Say what you want. Listen to the music you want to listen to. Play it loud as fuck and dance to it. Go out for a drive at midnight and forget that you have school the next day. Stop waiting for Friday. Live now. Do it now. Take risks. Tell secrets. This life is yours. When are you going to realize that you can do whatever you want?”

Blisters

Just thought I'd let y'all know that I do pick up a broom from time to time, ahem Rachel. Mom and I had to get the house all pretty and perfect yesterday, Sunday, for our open house. Naturally we had about 1.5" thick pollen that had fallen the previous few days so that was fun to sweep up.

The outcome of my hard work...look away kids!

Sweeping streets like a baller

Wildflowers

This passed Saturday was my annual company picnic! Seeing as I've worked with my company for a little over 2 months, it was my first annual company picnic. It was a really good time! I brought along my mom because she's my new partner in crime and unlike most moms I'm not embarrassed by her....well for the most part ;) Anyway, the picnic took/takes place at Cameron Management's CEO, Dougal Cameron's home in Chappell Hill right outside of Hempstead before you get to the beautiful Brenham, Texas, famous for their expansive pastures of wildflowers (bluebonnets, Indian paint brushes, buttercups, black eyed susans...so pretty!) There was delish BBQ and potato salad (my weakness!) and wine and beer and the essential picnic drink, Crush orange soda, no big deal ;) (Don't tell anyone but I desperately needed a "bit of the hair of the dog" if you know what I mean) So after we ate, there were fun festivities like trampoline and horseshoe contests for the kiddos and then there was an egg toss! Super corny but I mean, who would turn down an egg toss contest, seriously? They're fun! And it's a little scary how determined people can get, especially if there's a $150 cash prize for the winner, which we weren't. Apparently I decided to accidentally "bowl" my egg over the rocky gravel to mom.

Wild bluebonnets growing in their backyard

More bluebonnets growing right off their tennis court, yes...tennis court

Me and mom watching the kids' contests

Mike's Orchard

Here are some more pictures from our trip to Phoenix. After the wedding, we went orange picking and grapefruit picking in the Entzminger's backyard. No big deal...

Kayla and her bag-o-grapefuit...Just call her Heidi

The 3 Stooges...Jacques is lost, Kayla is daydreaming and Larry is looking up Mike's shorts

Rachel cheering on Greg as he steals lemons from the neighbor's tree

lAZy Weekend..

Not! My cousin's wedding was this past weekend and it was in Phoenix, AZ and so pretty! It was at a gorgeous resort in Scottsdale Saturday at dusk and the weather could not have been more perfect. It was so great seeing my AZ cousins, Jamie (the bride!), Ryan and Kelly because we only get to see each other about every 5 years but when we do see each other it's like we were never apart. We rarely hold conversations that don't include quotes from the millions (actually like 3 or so) movies we all love...Drop Dead Gorgeous, Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, Austin Powers and whatever youtube bits or inside jokes we have up our sleeves. Anyways, it was so fun and so great to have the whole Fieglein family together, or the majority of the family at least. Some cousins and grandkids couldn't make it but they were missed and we partied in their honor.
Jamie looked amazing! (understatement) and I know everyone says that about a bride or their family member but she really looked stunning! I only have 1 picture of her dress below and it's not even that good but she was just so regal! Grandma was looking sassy herself! I got a nice little tan and maybe a little alcohol poisoning but hey, it's a wedding, tomato/potato.

Camille at the dinner party Thursday night, meeting the groom's family

Rachel and Jacques figuring how to eat the ceviche shooters properly

Jamie's back lol Very beautiful chiffon flowing gown with a gathered rosette waist detail

My cousin Kayla and I at the cocktail hour after the ceremony

Rodeo Cook Off

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo always begins with a bang with its BBQ World Championship cook off. I was invited to the Devil's River Mountain Men tent by my boss, as he is on the team. It was a blast! I went Thursday evening and met so many great people! Saturday, I took my mom with me as my "+1" and we were literally there from 5pm to about midnight. 7 hours of drinking beer, eating corndogs and inhaling mesquite smoke is the closest thing we got to Heaven ;) The tent was decorated like a mountain man's dream home, with roadkill stapled to all the boards and walls. It was pretty authentic but it was really fun and well put together! It was my 1st Rodeo cook off and hopefully it won't be my last. Thanks boss!

Mom with her new friend

Mom and my boss, Joseph

Flu Season

I got a job! I'm the new receptionist for Cameron Management in downtown Houston, skyline district. I love it. I work closely with 4 people, with another office on another floor with another 8 or so people who are all very nice and personable. It's a commercial real estate firm headquartered in Houston and I am so lucky to have gotten this job. I'm a temp right now but if all goes well and I keep learning quickly I may land an interview for a permanent position which would be incredible! It's what I've always wanted to do, sitting at a desk with my own computer, phone, office email, mug-o-coffee, greeting people as they walk in, transfering calls and taking messages, not everyone's cup of tea, but for some reason it really excites me. I love the corporate world and dressing nicely every day, taking lunch breaks and coffee breaks. Call me weird, I don't know.

It just sucks because my first week (last week) I had to call in sick Friday because I was hit hard with the flu Thursday evening and the last thing I wanted to do was call in sick, especially the first week on the job. Whatever.

It's Valentine's Day and my Valentine is about 800 miles away from me :( Thank God for FaceTime!

I hope everyone has a happy, love and fun filled Valentine's Day, single or taken it's a day dedicated to love, friendship, happiness and it's an excuse to wear pink to the office!

(and just think, if you're lonely on Valentine's Day this year at least you're not coming home to this:)

Wisdom Teeth

So I got 4 teeth pulled this morning at 8 am. Y'all want to see some saucy pictures? I thought so:

This is my sexy face.

This is me SUPER excited!

NYE in Maui

Years in Maui was to die for! I had a blast and it was so awesome being Bartow and his family. Though I really missed my mom and dad and sisters, I wished that they could have been there with me.

While we were there we took a helicopter tour over the entire island, did a day trip doing "the road to Hana" which was filled with 1-lane twisting roads up the side of a mountain, it was crazy! We also went snorkling with turtles and saw beautiful reefs and we went paragliding! It was so fun! We were there from Def 29-Jan 7 and it was the perfect amount of time for a Maui vacay but I definitely could have stayed longer!

Me and Bartow at the private beach in front of Mama's Fish House

Bartow's 1st attempt at Poi

The lobby of the Fairmont Kea Lani, 1st day arrival!!

Beautiful coastal cliffs on the road to Hana

A frontal view of the Fairmont Kea Lani rooms

Rambutan, so good! Tastes like a grape