Texas Lou

Archive for the ‘Ben’ Category

Hey everyone!  Welcome to Thankful Monday/Tuesday (really it should be called Thankful 24/7)!

I was enjoying an amazing long weekend with family in Texas this weekend so that’s why I’m late posting.

Here’s this week’s list:

1. I’m thankful that we got to celebrate my cousin Jennifer’s marriage to her best friend Eric this weekend in Houston, and I’m also thankful that I got to see so many family and friends that I hadn’t seen in years/months!  It was like a wonderful family reunion!
2. I’m thankful that in addition to seeing much of my dad’s side of the family at the wedding reception, I got to see a ton of my mom’s side of the family too!  How lucky am I that I got to be surrounded by so many of my loved ones on a rare trip home to Houston!  I’m very grateful for the effort everyone made to be together!
3. I’m grateful that we could afford the plane tickets to Texas and also that we ran into minimal bad weather and travel delays along the way, especially since there has been so much bad weather happening lately.
4. I’m thankful for the opportunity to visit an old family favorite restaurant, Gaido’s, for a delicious meal with my family.  My parents used to take us here all the time when I was little and I have lots of wonderful childhood memories of eating here so it was nice to walk down memory lane.
5. I’m thankful that my husband was able to come along on the trip and spend time with my family and I and meet many family members whom he hadn’t yet met.  It’s always extra special to me when I can have him as a travel companion with me.

Have a wonderful day!

Good morning and welcome to my Thankful Monday post for the week!

Today, I am thankful for the following:

1. I’m thankful for strong and able bodies that allowed Ben and I to get a great deal of work done on both our house and condo this weekend.  We are that much closer to be unpacked in the house and having the condo ready to rent.
2. I’m thankful to live in a smaller city like Charlottesville where it’s easy to run into friends and acquaintances   Last week I went to lunch with an old friend and ran into several good people I used to work with at VGT.  It was so nice to catch up with them and just see their smiles!
3. I’m thankful for my husband.  He brought me tulips, one of my favorite flowers, last week unexpectedly to say thank you for all of the hard work I have done to get us moved.  It’s so nice to know he appreciates me and even better to see him show his appreciation!
4. I’m thankful that University of Virginia students are done for the summer.  There are so many parts of Charlottesville that are very enjoyable once students have gone home and places and events are less crowded as well!
5. I’m thankful that we may be getting our first house guest,  my brother, this coming weekend, and I’m also thankful for a long weekend!  I think I might sleep in!

Happy week!

I was in Texas this weekend and traveling all day yesterday so Thankful Monday has turned into Thankful Tuesday!

This Tuesday, I am thankful for so much after spending a wonderful long weekend with my family at the beach!  Here are just a few of the things I am grateful for:

1. I’m thankful for my mom.  I’m thankful that she hosted my sister, brother, Ben, and I at the beach this weekend, cooked us some of our favorite meals (swedish meatballs…yum), and showered us with gifts (reusable bags from the cities we attended college in, Texas honey from my uncles’ beehives, and delicious HEB tortillas!  I really have the best mom in the world (but I am a bit biased since she is MY mom)!
2. I’m thankful for my brother, Mikey.  He’s always so much fun to be around and we enjoyed his company this weekend while we joked, shared some delicious Saint Arnold‘s beer, and basked in our favorite home-cooked and Texas meals.  My brother understands what its like to live far from home and outside of Texas because he currently resides in South Carolina and I feel like we’ve become closer since sharing that experience.  I’m also so thankful that Mikey stayed up until 2 AM (3 AM his time) driving us from Houston to Padre after our flight was delayed…what a trooper!
3. I’m thankful for my sister, Carrie.  She has the sweetest smile when she is being positive and despite what she might think, I love her very much and enjoy spending time with her.  I’m thankful she was able to get off work this weekend to spend time with us, and I’m also very thankful that she provided her car for transportation so that we did not have to rent a car.
4. I’m thankful for my dad.  Despite having a busy work day and a conference call scheduled, he took time out to meet us for a Tex-Mex lunch at Chuy’s yesterday and then drove Ben and I to the airport.  He even managed to fit in a quick reunion with my step-mom and little brothers!  I’m really grateful that I got to see my dad and spend a little time with him since we were only in Houston for a few hours.
5. I’m thankful for Debbie.  I love Debbie and she has always been one of our favorite “aunts”.  I’m thankful that Debbie was able to spend the weekend with us and also so grateful that she took time to drive us back to Houston since Carrie had to leave Sunday to go back to work.
6. I’m thankful for Josh, Caroline, and their two sweet kiddos.  It was so nice to see them and spend Saturday at the beach with them!
7. I’m thankful for my Uncle (Amo) Jamil, Aunt Norma, and their family.  They drove from San Antonio to Padre to spend some time with us on the beach on Sunday.  It was so sweet to spend some time with my little cousins, play in the ocean and in the sand with them, and get to know them some.  I miss living close to them, and I’m so grateful for every time we get to see each other.
8. I’m thankful that I got to see my step-mom and my little brothers even if it was only for 30 minutes.  They are growing up so fast!
9. I’m thankful for my husband, Ben, who lets me drag him all around Texas, especially when I know he’s not crazy about traveling.  It’s much less sad to leave Texas and my family when he’s traveling with me.
10. Lastly, I’m thankful for the really cool TVs and free movies that United Airlines provided us.  Being able to watch Zero Dark Thirty and This Is 40 on the plane made being delayed for a couple of hours a lot less frustrating!

I could go on and on, but I’ll stop at 10!  I hope everyone has a beautiful week!

Good morning and happy Thankful Monday!

I certainly have ALOT to be thankful for this morning, including but not limited to the following:

1. I’m so thankful that Ben and I closed on our new house!  We are now homeowners and we absolutely LOVE our new home.  I ca’t wait to throw parties in it, raise babies in it, and make a lifetime of memories!
2. I’m so thankful for wonderful family who helped us do some moving this weekend.  A special shout out goes to Ian for his heavy lifting, Peter for letting us borrow his truck, and Sarah and Phyllis for the many meals they cooked for us to keep us going!
3. I’m thankful for the beautiful weather we had this weekend.  Not only was it quite enjoyable to be outside, it helped make moving alot easier without having to worry about extreme heat, freezing cold, or rain.
4. I’m thankful for my husband, Ben, without whom I wouldn’t be able to afford the house of my dreams.  It’s also been so amazing to experience this rite of passage with him by my side.
5. Lastly, I’m thankful that I’m headed to Texas next weekend for the first time in almost a year (I think that’s the longest I’ve ever been away from my home state) and that I get to see my family who I love so much!

Have a beautiful and very happy week friends!

Saturday night, I was in the mood for some pumpkin themed activities, so we headed over to Ian and Sarah’s house for dinner, pumpkin carving, pumpkin seed roasting, and pumpkin beer tasting!

Sarah cooked the amazing dinner and I provided the pumpkin ales and pumpkins for drinking and carving.  Sarah made white bean vegetarian chili which was delicious.  It had the consistency of potato soup but the taste of chili and it was perfect for a breezy fall evening.  I brought over Rogue Pumpkin Patch Ale, Williamsburg Alewerks Pumpkin Ale (a Virginia beer!), and Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale which I picked up from Beer Run which always has an amazing beer selection!  Rogue and Smuttynose were both kind of spicy with hints of pumpkin and nutmeg while Williamsburg Alewerks was more sweet like pumpkin pie.

After dinner, we carved pumpkins with the help of Amy, Joel, Collin, Ian, and Ben.  Sarah opted for an awesome design created using the power tool pumpkin carving method.  She used a drill to create decorative holes all around the pumpkin’s surface.  I of course had to go with a Texas theme!  Due to my lack of artistic ability, I had Ben draw the shape of Texas  freehand.  It looked great but we were worried it would be too difficult to carve, so he drew me a Texas Longhorns logo instead.  It came out great and the Texas themed jack-o-lantern is now being proudly displayed outside our front door.

Sarah with her lovely pumpkin!

My Longhorn pumpkin!

The cool longhorn pumpkin cut-out.

We used the seeds from our pumpkins to roast cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds and garlic pumpkin seeds and ended the evening feasting on them while watching Netflix.  It was a great night with great friends and the perfect way to celebrate Halloween weekend!

This weekend, Ben and I went to the Charlottesville City Market to buy some fresh veggies and enjoy the local vendors.  We bumped into this car as we were walking to the market.  I said that “Murse” stands for Male Nurse, like Gaylord Focker in the movie “Meet the Parents”.  Ben however said that it stood for Man purse, as in the man bag that Joey carries in an episode of Friends. According to Urban Dictionary, the word murse can be used to describe both a male nurse and a male purse, but I think someone is much more likely to display pride of being a male nurse than pride of owning a male purse on the bumper of their Saturn.  What do you think?

My wedding video is done!  It was really amazing to see some of the wonderful events of the day played back for the first time.  It brought tears to my eyes.  Aaron Watson and Exist N Motion Films did a spectacular job!

Leslie and Ben’s Wedding Highlight Film from Aaron Watson on Vimeo.

Saturday, Ben and I went to the Top of the Hops Beer Festival downtown.  It was a beautiful day to be outside and we enjoyed it while bumping into friends and tasting lots of new and different beers.  Some of the more unique brews we tried were Fish Paralyzer BPA of RJ Rockers Brewing Company (BPA stands for Belgian-Style Pale Ale), Chipotle Ale from Rogue Ale which had a very smokey taste to it, and Jacques Au Lantern of Evolution Craft Brewing Co. which is a seasonal pumpkin ale that Ben described as being very nutmeggy!  We also tried several ciders and cask ales.

Chris (Ben’s best bud) and Ben…check out Chris’ awesome pretzel necklace!

The ladies: Caitlin (Cara’s sister), Cara, and I

Ben and I after lots of beers!

After all that beer, we desperately needed some food, so we headed to the Whiskey Jar for some southern style cookin’!  Ben and I both had the Courthouse Sandwhich “Hicory Smoked Pork with a spicy Pepper and Onion blend topped with Housemade Cheese Sauce on a Po Boy Roll and served with Fries”.  It was delicious and we washed it down with a famous Moonshine Punch!

Afterward we spent some time sobering up while playing cornhole at Chris and Cara’s house.   It was the perfect Saturday spent with good friends!

I just wanted to share a lovely picture, courtesy of a friend, of my husband, the love of my life, and I at a wedding this past weekend (more on the amazing wedding coming later)!

Ben and I

I love him and I love us!

Bloody Mary from Beer Run

Doesn’t this look like a work of art?  One of my favorite drinks to enjoy on a Sunday or with any breakfast, brunch, or lunch meal is the delicious Bloody Mary!  I personally like mine with worcestershire sauce, olive juice, horseradish, lime juice, and LOTS of hot sauce!  Sunday, Ben and I had no breakfast food in the house so I thought it was a great excuse to go to Beer Run, one of my favorite local places for food and beer for brunch.

We both had the El Guapo Breakfast Burrito:

El Guapo Breakfast Burrito
Scrambled local eggs, organic black beans, pepper jack cheese, sauteed red bell peppers wrapped in a flour tortilla. Served with spicy house-made Pico de Gallo and Texas Frites. 9.95

They were served with a slice of watermelon and honey dew.  Brunch was delicious, the company was great, and we snagged the last outdoor table so we could enjoy the first beautiful fall-like day of the season with our meal!  It was the perfect start to our Sunday!