waco weekend

last friday, 

ross, roux & i hopped in the car 

and headed to one of our most favorite places...

baylor university!

we got to see sing, go to a dance party, drink sangria with best friends, 

celebrate friends at a couples shower, stop by our favorite thrift store, 

enjoy ninfaritas with more friends, drink common grounds coffee, 

and even walk the bear trail. 

...and the best part

(besides celebrating pi phi winning sing for the first time ever!)

was my little sister calling & saying that 

she's going to baylor next year!!

we are so excited for the many, many waco road trips to waco in our future, 

and even happier that emily is about to embark on the incomparable adventure

that is life at good ol' BU. 

anniversary

warning: this post may be overloaded with gushing about ross pinson. proceed with reading at your own risk.

we woke up early & enjoyed a quick little breakfast of sliced cherry tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs at our kitchen table.  the sun was just coming up on our drive to the airport; a brightly glowing grapefruit warming the cool blue sky and thin cotton candy clouds.  we just couldn't stop looking at each other.  thankfully, we'd both given up on stifling that pesky uncomfortable feeling in our throats last night and finally let it out; so this morning was calm and warm with love.  until we got to the airport, that is, but even that wasn't so bad.  i parked the car and got out with him, and we must have looked like a couple of high schoolers the way we were kissing and looking longingly into each others eyes. the whole goodbye scene was kind of silly, which was nice and it helped the tears go away.  but hey, the longest we've been apart since we've been married is a whopping two nights, and today we embarked on our 5 weeks of long distance marriage- so i don't feel too bad about being cheesy or a little teary or anything else for that matter.

i know it's easy to say right now, since i was just in ross' arms a few hours ago, but i feel really good about this season.  ross prayed over us last night and again this morning, and theres a peace in my heart about how sweet this time apart will be.  the way ross and i enjoyed every little minute this past weekend proved that sometimes we need a deadline to stop taking our time together for granted.  and speaking of this past weekend, i have to take a few minutes to gush & brag about how cool my husband is. 

we got back on sunday from what seriously felt like a second honeymoon.  ross planned every detail & kept everything as a surprise, and he completely swept me off my feet.

late friday afternoon we arrived in dallas and pulled up to an incredibly beautiful hotel, the adolfus. i fell in love with the gorgeous french style and had ross cracking up as i freaked out about all the beautiful furniture, mirrors, fabrics, etc. straight up swoon. 

we quickly headed out to catch our dinner reservations at a resturant ross picked out for the evening, nonna. mouth wateringly-delicious. incredible service, atmosphere and especially food. the lobster ravioli is to die for. 

 

afterwards we headed to the big event of the weekend/year: WICKED! i'm afraid even my most eleoquent descriptions would fall flat & i would fail miserably at describing what was by far one of (if not the) most entertaining, talent-packed, captivating performances i've ever had the pleasure of seeing. my super high expectations were puny in comparison to the reality. we had a blast.

that night we also had the pleasure of celebrating one of ross' best friends' engagement with a whole house filled with baylor people. can a day get any better?

yes it can. when we got back to the hotel, there was a bottle of champaign waiting for us. i was practically get whiplash from all of the surprises my husband had up his sleeve.  seriously, my husband is the man. 

we snoozed & snuggled our way through our breakfast plans, but managed to get up & going in time to meet one my best friends for lunch before the next surprise: rent bikes & ride all around round rock lake. the weather could not have been nicer and i was very grateful to be burning off some of the calories from friday nights praline nougatine semifreddo with pistachios and acacia honey (basically a fluffy little white slice of heaven).  we took lots of breaks to admire the views, and enjoyed riding by all the pretty houses an dreaming of one day (many, many years from now) owning a house of our own. 

that evening we enjoyed a couple of drinks at the adolfus so we could walk around and admire it some more before our next surprise: dinner & dancing at sambuca. loved it. we definitely want to go back. for us, sambuca has it all: swanky atmosphere, great food, live music, and a dance floor.  of course ross told the band we were celebrating our anniversary while i was in the bathroom.  so they called us out later in the evening to dance to the song ross and requested: brown eyed girl. 

and THEN, as if my heart wasn't already exploding with love and gratitude and shock, ross says to me,

"i know we said that the wicked tickets were are gift and we weren't going to do anything else, but..."

and pulls out from his pocket the infamous pretty little teal box with white ribbon and i couldn't keep from tearing up at the words that came with it, as he talked about this past year, our future, and especially the next 5 weeks. 

it was nice coming back to college station yesterday and enjoying a usual sunday.  unpacking, laundry, a game of tennis, a long walk and snow cones.  spanish salad and garlic bread for dinner and then a movie.  

ross said he wanted to make our anniversary weekend extra-special since we wont be together on the 4th, and he absolutely did.  i am incredibly blessed to have him as a husband and best friend, and i'm also starting to feel pretty spoiled. the reason i wanted to write down all those little details is because i know in the next 5 weeks i'll be drawing from the fullness of our weekend and reliving it all.

i feel like shouting out elf-style "i'm in love, i'm in love and i don't care who knows it!"  can't freakin wait to drive back to the tiny college station airport in 5 weeks and pick him up.  thankfully, i have that long to try and plan a few surprises of my own. that ross franklin leaves a tough act to follow...

happy friday!

here are a couple of the songs that have been on repeat in our home this week. 

they are especially sweet on a lovely summer friday afternoon.

for our one year anniversary gift to each other- we got tickets to WICKED!

can't. freaking. wait!

...and some pump up music for tonight:

late night driving tips

shot two weddings in norman this weekend with stancy

& drove all the way home on saturday night

from 11-4:49 a.m.

{don't freak out mom!}

i was planning on stopping whenever i got tired-

but the tiredness never came.

i feel like i could run a marathon now with all that mental strength & focus.

{that's probably how long it would take me to run a marathon, too}

the only problem is, i can't pull all-nighters like i used to-

my sleep schedule got totally thrown off and now it's 4:22 and i'm

wiiiiiiide awake.

so, i thought i would share

'katie's tips for staying awake & alert for long late night drives.'

they are as follows:

1. diet dr. pepper

2. pumpkin seeds

3. new moon audio book

yes, that's right: twilight on tape. no, i'm not a twilight fan. but you can rent audio books at cracker barrel, and new moon was the longest one i could find at a whopping 15 hr. length.

and the thing is, it kept me entertained & awake for my drives to and from norman. in my experience, the lighter the book- the less likely you are to get sleepy when listening to it.

and now i kind of want to drive around for a few more hours and finish it...

how to have a perfect day

step one: begin the day in your favorite city with some of your favorite people

step two: big brek. freshly brewed coffee, homemade crepes, fresh fruit, turkey bacon, scrambled eggs and plenty of sunlight.

step three: go kayaking on town lake to burn off big brek and work on tan.

step four: afternoon snack. mighty cone & daily juice = perfect.

step five: walk around fun streets & stop in interesting shops.

step six: play with puppies.

start serious discussion of when you can adopt some puppies of your own.

step seven: watch your true love fall in love with puppies.

step eight: afternoon work out with jillian so you can better enjoy

step nine: enjoy incredible food with even better company.

step ten: finish the meal with some happy birthday creme brulee.

final step: go out. dance. listen to live music.

feel the fresh night air & be grateful to be alive and loved.

the architects house: austin, tx

ross & i love to get away and stay in a nice hotel on occasion as much as any couple. who doesn't love the tiny bath products, white robes, and fancy lobbies? but, for our most recent trip to austin we rented a house with some friends and were blown away by the experience. to all my friends that read this blog, i have to share this info with you!

this past week ross didn't have class, so we wanted to go on a fun trip with our good friends blake & stancy. we looked into everything from beach houses in galveston to lake houses on lake travis, but blake found the ultimate getaway house by simply googling "austin vacation home rentals." lots of options came up, but the architect's house was the winner.

the pictures don't really do the house justice, but they give you an idea:

we fell instantly in love with the house and had to pretend we lived there

every little detail was thought out and super cool

true life: i want these chairs

please note how intense this door is.

perfect balcony for good talks, wine & board games

...and here's my true love looking handsome & at home in the architects house in austin.

i love him. and austin. and adventures.

we feel so blessed that we got to spend time together during the week

with great friends in such a unique house.

next time you go to austin, you have to look into this house!

there and back again

{bread pudding @ gumbos}

{round rock express baseball game}

{our view from abel's on the lake}

dear round rock,

we love you & your little baseball stadium. thanks for providing such a great date night. you could be a really great home for us in a year, right?

dear gumbos, trudys, hula hut, abels on the lake, kerby lane, koriente,

yummmm. ross and i were good about rarely eating out this past year- but we made up for time fast because of you all. worth it though; no hard feelings. well, my waistline might feel differently.

dear garmen,

are you mad at us? why do you lead us astray? is it because we call you grimlen...

dear anthropologie,

thanks for the shockingly low sale find today! you might have won over my husband once and for all. but maybe your prices should always be just a little lower, true?

dear texas heat,

you seem different, out-of-control almost. i used to look forward to your arrival & love being outside with you, but you've changed. please, please, just take it easy. if you could stop making me feel menopausal that would be great.

dear allison, tyler & louise,

we had so much fun with yall this weekend!! thanks for hanging out with us.

dear austin,

can't wait to see you again tomorrow.

off to austin

ross finished his last week of class of his first year of med school!

to celebrate, we're throwing together a little overnight bag & heading off to our favorite city in texas (besides waco, of course)- Austin! even though i've been absolutely dying to add a puppy (or two) to our family, it's pretty great to just be able to pack up & peace out on a whim since it's just the two of us.

happy weekend!

lately

when ross & i stepped outside the morning i was absolutely filled with joy:

it finally really feels like summer. in the best way possible.

not the oppressive heat so familiar to us in texas,

but instead this morning offered up instead a refreshing warmth with crisp, cool air.

the kind of weather you only get to enjoy after a summertime rainstorm.

the kind of weather that whisked me through time...

seconds after my first breath of fresh air this morning i traveled back

to mornings at camp olympia, leading a whole cabin of silly little girls to the chow hall.

to the mornings that were a little too cool to go out on the boat,

but we couldn't resist jumping in the lake anyway.

i woke up in a morning after a sleepover with stephanie, where we would sit in her backyard

and plan out the next bike rides and pool parties.

i fell back into leisurely breakfasts at my old home in kingwood; the kind with lots of coffee, the houston chronicle comics section, and my dad's homemade pop-overs.

so excited for summer to be here again.

i feel like i dived into a pool of excitement & zeal for life!

here's a little list of what's been going on with the pinson family lately:

* lots of guitar playing & singing on the porch

* homemade southside burgers with l.beck & satt pack

* wine & pasta at cafe capri with melanie & alise

* planning upcoming mini vacations to austin with good friends

* finally watched an education with carrie

* playing photographer with stancy higley

* continually falling in love with glee & parenthood week after week

* waaaay too much ice cream: spoons, ben & jerrys, you name it...

oooo summer i love you so

...and we're back

it's official: i am back online.  

this weekend ross & i left little ol' college station and headed to the familiar city of houston.  friday night we celebrated my cousin mary catherine's birthday at a swanky mexican restaraunt downtown with a marathon-long table with seats filled with family and friends from every corner of the country (and a little ways out of it, too).  margs, chips, guacamole, laughs & stories were shared for hours, and the party continued on at my uncles house nearby, where we celebrated with pretty cupcakes and an a good time. 

we woke up early saturday morning to share a incredibly tasty breakfast at the hotel with my parents, and made room at our table for more as other family members trickled in... and we might have scared away a certain celebrity with our excited whispers.  several cups of coffee later and with fully satisfied appetites, my amazinghardworkingdiligentmedschoolhusband studied in our room at the houstonian all day saturday and i got to spend the afternoon with my parents wandering around the galleria.  

thanks to an incredibly generous gift from my dad, i am now blogging from a shiny new computer.  to say i am grateful & excited is a severe understatement- not just for my parents giving hearts and generousity, but for the way they always believe in me. they are brilliant examples of the kind of people and parents that ross and i pray we'll become.  but the best part of the shopping trip was when my mom and i walked out of j.crew to find my brother brother sitting on a bench, his leg acting as a pillow for my very asleep dad.  

that evening we attended the wedding of my uncle kent to his finace sarah.  once again, we spent an entire night enjoying beautiful food, wine, and company.  one of my greatest joys in life is when the whole crazy family is together, or at least most of them, and we can talk about old memories while making new ones.  toward the end of the night, ross, my cousin william and i straight up crashed the other two weddings that were going on at the hotel.  our criteria for wedding crashing evolved into several must-do activities:  walk around the reception, get a diet coke, make small talk with the photographer & get your picture taken, and finally leave- with a wedding favor in tow... all in good fun. 

it was such a happy weekend.  one of the sweetest parts of being married is seeing your spouse with your family.  ross and i are a family now, and it's so fun to see how much the rest of my family loves him too.  he's the man. 

anyway, i'm officially back to trying to be a graphic designer & photographer through this rockin new computer, but more on that later.  in the meantime, here's some inspiration i found while soaking up my long-lost friend, blogosphere... don't even laugh- you're obviously friends with it too. 

{above 3 from marina at makina, found via ohjoy!}

{via design*sponge}