live simply

"nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished" ~lao tzu

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mr. & mrs. sookie stackhouse & co.

where was i when anna paquin & stephen moyer got married?? anyway, congrats to the happy couple! here they are, both wearing mcqueen, looking so sublime on the emmy red carpet:

and while bill & sookie are my favorite on and off screen couple, few hold a candle to my beloved lafayette (nelson ellis), my favorite tv character, possibly of all time. here he is looking so fly on the red carpet (loving the hat, la la!):

and can we pause for a moment and really enjoy the hottness that is jason stackhouse? i mean...swoon! he makes that passe double-breasted look thing really work for him.

and speaking of red hot, miss tara (rutina wesley) is stunning in a hand-painted douglas annette dress and is really working that up-to-there slit!

and last but certainly not least, is there anyplace else you would rather be than stuck between these two? i think not!

all photos from www.trueblood-news.com

friday love

today we left home a smidge early so stephen could make it to his 9 am class and we got to stop for a little treat on the way! now this really is a delight, as we hardly ever stop at starbucks (or any little coffee shop, for that matter) and indulge. this particular location has the nicest folks working there (lemmon & knight, if you're in dallas!),  and when the barista took our orders with our names he stopped and gave a smile and gave a "how cute!"

i mean, it is pretty cute! for me, when people comment on the "stephen & stephanie" thing, it really never gets old. and i just loved that he spelled both of them out, which almost never happens, and got stephen's right with the p-h...as it should be :) i just had to snap a pic. so there it is, your daily dose of love and cuteness (can you tell i really get a kick out of it? a complete goober, i am aware).

any exciting plans for the weekend? i have a birthday celebration to attend this evening then it's relax, relax, relax for me!

i hope you all have a fantastic friday and a lovely weekend!!

xoxo

back to school

well stephen starts school with his first class tonight...i'm excited and nervous for what this semester will bring! i'm glad we took advantage of having so much time this summer to spend together, because now has 3 night classes this semester, not to mention working in the restaurant biz, which means nights and weekends as well. i might not get to see him....well, ever. so i'll put on my "supportive wife" hat and deal with his absence by working and possibly baking myself into a sweet coma. lots of luck to my love on his fall adventure xoxoxo

(oh and lots of luck to any of you who may be starting school, and especially the moms sending their little ones off to a brand new adventure!)

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photobooth silliness

stephen and i went to a wonderful wedding this weekend - it was a lovely catholic ceremony with a spectacular reception at dallas' historic adolphus hotel. it seemed no expense was spared, not even for the 6-tier groom's cake (you read that right, 6 tiers, for the groom's cake!) or the gorgeous hydrangea centerpieces with blue beta fish swimming around in the vases. it was quite grand and beautiful, all around. when we saw there was a photo booth, we were all over it! i love this little trend of photo booth pics at the wedding. we did the photos, and each printed out 2 sheets: one for you to take home, and one for you to stick in their book and sign by. way cute!

here are mine and stephen's photos: 

fun huh?! it had the little wedding signature on the bottom but for some reason my scanner wasn't having it so here it is without. congrats to mr. and mrs. laurenzi (mark & kylee...or marlee as we like to call them :)) it was a wonderful night and i expect a full, happy life to follow!

it might have been a tuesday...

well the good news is my knee swelling and pain is completely gone.  i'm not sure if i just twisted it or something but i'm just going to go with it unless it happens again, then i promise to go to the doc :)

how are you lovelies today? me, well i'm still dreaming of fall. i woke up on saturday morning and it felt like fall - not because it was cooler or anything, but it just felt like fall was upon us. it may have been something in a dream, but who knows. anyway, it was a rude awakening to learn that it would be 106 degrees that day (yuck!)...and thus, it is still summer in texas. on the bright side, the rest of the week we will only be in the low 90's! hooray!

the first thing i want to do when we get a real cool front is cook some jambalaya! it's been far too hot, even in our apartment, to even think of cooking something that isn't simply something quickly sauteed or a grilled cheese sandwich. then maybe i'll go for a bike ride. i miss my bike, it's been too hot! what about you? what's the first thing you'll do when it cools down??

hope you all are having a lovely beginning to your week :)

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injury prone

so last night i was watching tv and playing a bit on the computer.  i got up to go into the kitchen and a sharp shooting pain went through my knee. i kept walking on it, hoping it was just stiff from sitting, but later notice that it had swollen up to about a grapefruit size.  i took my little ice pack and some ibuprofen and that was my night. this morning i woke up feeling a little stiff and the knee is still swollen, though not as bad. so here i am at work, foot propped up on my modem with my little ice pack (hey, at least the ice pack is cute, right?!). i just can't put together why this happened! i haven't been back to the gym since our return from vegas (shame, shame, i know), so i just don't know why it's acting up.

anything like this ever happen to you?! i must admit, it's not unusual for me to be injured or mysteriously bruised, but i have to say this is a first.

oh well, wine and more ice to come tonight!

what happened in vegas....

was awesome. that was the best trip to vegas i've had yet!

i could not have asked for a better time - from the place we stayed (the wynn, incredible!), our group, and our VIP host michael who was amazing. if you ever want every little thing taken care of for you without the stress of planning, contact michael, the sin city vip,  and you will not regret it one bit! i will be using this service anytime i go back to sin city. well if you wanted more details, sorry i let you down...but you know how the saying goes ;)

viva las vegas

well kiddos and kiddettes, stephen and i will be on a plane to vegas this time tomorrow. we're heading to sin city for the big celebration of our best friends' bachelor & bachelorette extravaganza.  we have friends coming from nashville (the married couple-to-be), tulsa, los angeles and dallas, so it will be quite the reunion as well! since it's been over a year since our entire group has had an adventure together, it's long overdue and we are beyond excited.

it's been about 4 years since i was last in vegas so i'm looking forward to the craziness that is the strip and beyond. i'm a big fan of the freemont experience and the downtown area so hopefully we can take everyone to see that (all of the girls coming are first-timers so it should be a riot!).  have you ever been to vegas? to you like it or leave it? the bright lights, night life, shopping, dining and gambling all draw me in and when i'm there i just can't get enough.  city of excess, right? well i will be sure to tell you all (ok maybe not ALL) about it next week!

oh and have no fear, roxy will be living the good life here while we're gone.

y'all have a great end to your week and a fun, safe weekend!

xoxo

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i love it when...

i open my freezer and hiding behind the multiple ben & jerry's containers are my little lean cuisines. makes me chuckle.  it's all about balance, right?!

oh the little things...happy monday :)

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friday helper

i got to bring miss roxy into work today. she's serving as the official mascot today and is available for cuddles, pets and treats :)

here she is on her little pad at my desk.

beware: prolonged exposure can lead to sporadic napping :)

so what are you all up to this weekend? after last, we need some recouping! i'm planning on relaxing as much as possible and hope to catch a movie (for real this time!). but mostly i have to get prepped for a big trip we're taking next week! more on that later. 

hope y'all have a super weekend! stay cool!

xoxo

victory for equal rights!

congratulations to california for stepping up against bigotry and standing up for equal rights by overturning proposition 8 today! the judge said the ban "fails to advance any rational basis" for the denial of a marriage license, and i wholeheartedly agree. way to go, hopefully the rest of the nation will follow suit.

it's discouraging to say the least to see such blatant homophobia in our society today. my heart goes out to all on the front lines of this fight, it is such an ugly one! bravo and to everyone else, don't give up the fight!!

oh and i just couldn't resist:

photos: one, two

with love all around

well we had such a fun trip to tulsa over the weekend! we got to catch up with friends & family, do my little reunion (very fun, and small so it was pressure-free :)) but the highlight came on saturday night when our friends kevin & melissa got engaged!! kevin invited everyone to mcnellie's (where melissa works) and told her that since she had to work all weekend, he brought the group to her.  he waited until she was ready to come take our orders and called her over to pop the question.  she was SO surprised!! both of their parents were there to experience this joyous occasion and as an added bonus, kevin had arranged for melissa to get off work immediately to celebrate - and the next morning for a little recovery! so here they are, in all their lovey-dovey glory:

what a couple of cuties, right? i couldn't be more happy for them, what a beautiful love they share.  oh! and you can watch the video of the whole thing:



you can just see the surprise in her face, i love it!! congrats mel & fuzz!!