Whatever Happened to Predictability....

...The milkman, the paperboy, the evening TV!

That's right, folks. That's the Full House theme song, and my lucky husband got to hear me sing it every day during our trip to SAN FRANCISCO!

We decided to take a little anniversary getaway to San Fran over Memorial Day weekend, and naturally I'm just now posting about it. We had such a wonderful time. We flew in on a Thursday, drove straight to Napa for dinner and a wine tour on Friday, then headed into the San Fran Bay until Monday night. We ate a lot of delicious food, and drank a lot of fab wines, and went to a lot of cool restaurants and bars, and went on some fun cliche tours, and it was incredible!

Here are some photo highlights of our trip:

Anxiously awaiting our flight at the airport!

Our fun view of the Golden Gate Bridge - driving over it on our way to NAPA

Bouchon! DELICIOUS Thomas Keller French restaurant in Yountville.

First Stop, Day One: Robert Mondavi Vineyards. We took a "Wine Tasting Basics" class so we could actually figure out what we were doing all day.

Beautiful Mondavi vineyard, and a naked lady statue welcoming us.

Next stop: Sterling Vineyards! You had to take a tram to the top of this gorgeous hill - incredible views!

Last stop: Kendall Jackson. Beautiful mansion with lush gardens surrounding it. I got lightheaded and almost passed out so we missed the tour but...it was amazing other than that!

More beautiful views....

Our first night back in SF, we ate at a cute local Italian place, Brindisi. Awesome seafood!

Our second day, we went on a food tour at the Ferry Marketplace Building. This is a food lover's paradise! It's comparable to the Chelsea Food Market in NYC. They have TONS of specialty food shops and vendors, and on Saturday mornings there is a huge Farmer's Market surrounding it. We got to sample a variety of things from inside and hear all about the local businesses. Drew is seen here sampling a Sesame Chocolate. Tasted weird but interesting.

Saturday afternoon, we took a ferry over to Alcatraz!! We had a self-guided tour and loved it.

Saturday night, we had dinner at Town Hall (and I forgot to take pictures, naturally), where I had some of the best friend chicken of my life. We also stopped by an AMAZING speak-easy called Bourbon and Branch, where you have to have a password to get in, and after whispering it to the doorman, you are ushered into a labryinth of dark rooms and halls to have the strongest drinks you've ever had.

Sunday morning, we took a Cable Car Tour and saw all of the cliche, touristy, awesome things in San Fran....including perfect views of the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

After the Cable Car Tour, we headed to Foreign Cinema for brunch. It's a beautiful, light, airy restaurant nestled in the Mission District, and they make their own homemade poptarts! You're damn right I got one.

Sunday night, we ventured over to North Beach and ate at a world famous pizza place, Tony's Napoletana. I'm not someone who generally buys into hype about "this is the best ______ ever!", but....this pizza was among the best pizza I've literally put in my mouth. Wanna see a picture of this delicious pie? Well you can't. Because I'm an idiot who forgot to take a picture. I was too consumed with getting it in my mouth as fast as possible.

Monday morning, we walked to the Ferry Marketplace Building one last time (we'd gone every day, mind you) and ate at a fun burger place called Gott's Roadside. We shared garlic pesto fries, while I got a blue cheese burger and Drew got a regular cheeseburger (pictured). Delish.

We also stopped by Tartine, a cute bakery with amazing bread, pastries, and meals, and got a Chocolate Hazelnut Tart. It took everything in me but I managed to save it to eat it on the flight home, to combat the depression I felt leaving.

Like I said, we truly had a WONDERFUL time! Can't wait till our next trip - which may or may not be to New York in the fall, because we may or may not have drunkenly bought plane tickets last night. Oops. More posts to come!

Updated

Well...it's been another 4 months since my last blog post and man do I suck at this blogging. Every article or website I've read about blogging encourages one to blog often or else you will lose interest and followers. Here's part of an article I read:

"Finally, once your blog is ready to go, remember to keep it current. That’s not to say you need to post every hour on the hour, or even every day, but at least post weekly; don’t half-commit to your project. With any luck, you will have readers and they will look forward to your posts, so don’t disappoint them. Too often, great blogs go south because they aren’t updated enough…or ever. Don’t put in all the effort only to decide two days later that it’s just not for you."

I don't actually have too many followers but I definitely don't now, judging by my once-every-six-months posts. Here's another part of the same article I found interesting:

"The first step to starting a successful blog is to decide what you want to write about. There are literally millions of bloggers already out in the blogosphere, so how are you going to differentiate yourself? It’s important to start by writing about something you love and have a substantial knowledge of. Whether it’s horticulture or hot dogs, entertainment or enterprising, fitness or finance – love it, live it, blog it. If you don’t have passion for something, neither will your readers, and if you can’t provide more insight than a quick Google search, why would anyone bother reading? Make it stand out. Show your personality and your passion, and most of all, show your expertise."

I never officially decided on a category. There's no specific "theme" to my blog, except a chronicle of our lives. I should probably add more cooking/baking, and maybe some more traveling, and some more restaurant reviewing, and home decor, but I haven't. I will though! As God as my witness!

Since my last blog post, I have....

• Quit training for a 10K or even a 5K. Maybe one day.
• Decided to move out of our apartment due to increased bullshit rent.
• Witnessed the marriage of one of my b-fris to a handsome Texas cowboy.
• Witnessed the engagement of another one of my b-fris to her cutie fiance.
• Joined Twitter. (WTF?)
• Gone to San Francisco for a lover's getaway with my boo.
• Found a fabulous new (small) apartment.
• Developed a new interest in home decor.
• Joined this awesome site called Pinterest where I can hone my home decor and posting skillz.
• Watched the Mavs enter the FINALS! (Currently watching Game 5 of the Finals right now, with my husband who curses incredibly loudly at the television every. single. time. the other team scores.)
• Completed my 1-Year Anniversary at the job that I currently have and love.
• Best of all: gotten my husband back from his job. Busy season is over and I am alone no more. Gracias a Dios.

I'd say that's a pretty busy Spring. I plan to blog more about each of these accomplishments...SOON. More next time.

New Year, New...Me.

I just noticed that the last time I blogged was October 26. That's outrageous. I started my blog as a scrapbook of sorts, not really to ever say anything of importance, but...it sucks. Scrap-booking is fun, but it's not as fun to read. One of my New Year's Resolutions was to blog more and write more REAL things, as I've said before. And so far I've done a shitty job.

I started this blog around 1 year ago (I believe my first post was about Valentine's Day 2010) and I really don't have much to show for it. Dangit! I need excitement to happen in my life. I told Drew we either need to move to a new city or buy a house or have a baby so my life will be worth blogging about. (Don't worry - we're not doing any of those things. Dangit!)

In an effort to be more real, I thought I'd share a few New Year's Resolutions (1.5 months late) - mostly so I can check myself and my progress. And putting it out there makes them real!

1. Run a 10K. So far this isn't going very well. I am almost running at 5K but I'm not entirely sure how well the 10K training will be/go. And I can't find one I want to do when I want to do it. Or maybe that's just an excuse. Leave me alone.

2. Lose 15 lbs. I'm about a third of the way there. We shall see.

3. Be more assertive. This means making more decisions for myself and doing things based on what "I" want or what WE want and not worrying about what others think of me/us. I am unfortunately driven by what people think and wanting to please everyone and I just can't do that anymore. So far I think this resolution is going swimmingly.

4. Read/work through The Artist's Way. This is a book my friend Molly sent me and it's supposed to help one be more creative and think more creatively and live the creative life you've always wanted to and never thought you could. I've gone through and worked on one chapter and I've slowed down. I need to speed it up! It's worth it! I shall be the creative person I was meant to be! God willing.

5. Start a book club. Me and my friends have been trying to start one for 2 YEARS now and it has yet to happen! This is our year, damnit.

6. Learn to make pasta and other different, non-conventional recipes that I haven't already mastered. This might not be a "resolution", more of something I should put on a to-do list, but...still. It's something I wanna do this year. So sue me.

I have a few others but I'm choosing not to reveal EVERYTHING about myself to my adoring public. But...it's out there now, and I shall keep myself/whoever reads this updated on my progress throughout the year. If I can remember.

I have other things I'll blog about later but I think this is a great start for now! Wahooo.

Paint n' Partyin

A few weeks ago, Kathleen, Lindsay, Devin and I decided to cash in our Groupon that we purchased last Spring and make our artistic dreams of being painters come true. We went to Painting with a Twist, which is like the Paint n' Party of our youth, but with wine and cheese this time! You can bring your own wine and food and learn how to paint the same generic painting as everyone else, while adding your own unique, drunk twist. And that we did.

When we originally found out what we were painting, a boozy redhead party girl entitled "Lucy on the Loose", I was a little irritated. Of ALL the selections, we have to do this one? What am I supposed to do with this? But as Lindsay pointed out...was this not the most appropriate/awesome painting this group of girls could have done? You bet it was!

The beginning of the end of Lucy. On the loose.

I'm concentrating very hard on blending my blue and white and painting the dress within the lines.

Halfway there....

All four of us with our finished paintings! As you can see, they are all the same, but DIFFERENT. Creativity people!! I'm jealous of Devin's blonde one. Sigh.

The finished product was a wild haired Lucy who was living the dream. As my friend Moll said, "Excuse me, bartender? I'll have what she's having!" But seriously.

AH!

Let's start a riot! The Rangers just won against the f-ing YANKEES and we're going to the WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!

We are starting a naked riot here in Uptown so whoever wants to come, come on over and join us.

Terry Getting Married

One of my b-fris Tara got ENGAGED this weekend! Yay! She met her fiance, Tully, 4 months ago - which just goes to show that anything can happen and God has a couple of tricks up his sleeve. We were fortunate enough to get to go out to Tully's ranch to surprise her and celebrate, and that ranch is AMAZING.

Infinity pool overlooking the Texas Hill Country, anyone? Tully said we were welcome out there anytime but I'm not exactly sure he knows what he's offering. Cause I'd be there every weekend. It's a resort.

That's me and my boo, just clownin around in front of a beautiful sunset. La la la.

Tully and Tara smiling and laughing and being lovers in love! His dad was giving a very sweet wonderful toast and we were guzzling champagne.

Check out her sparkler! This thing really will blind you and I ain't lyin'.

Lovers in love! Again! Happiness! Love! Yay! Exclamation points!

I am super pumped up and happy for these two. As you can see, they are a gorgeous couple inside and out! I've only gotten to hang out with Tully a few times, but I know that I already love him and can't wait to get to know him better in the upcoming months and years. Congrats to T&T!!

Birthday Bonanza

I haven't written in awhile and the people have been begging for my return. The only reason for my absence I can think of is that I got a new computer (more on that later) and I've been trying to figure out how to use it and make life easier...but it HASN'T been easier. So here I am.

My birthday was this past week and it was a lovely few days. My boss brought me flowers and a cupcake and everyone at work gave me a sign, I received cards and gifts from friends and loved ones, my b-fris took me to a fun lunch, and I got a delicious meal from Houston's out of the deal. I am now officially 26, which is officially closer to 30 than 20. I don't feel old enough to be 26 - which makes me wonder if this is how our parents feel. They continue to get older but mentally they feel young and spry. It's a tale as old as time I'm afraid.

ANYWAYS....

Here's me at my parent's house for my birthday dinner, blowing out my candles.

The flowers my boss brought me! Sunny and cheery and bright! Eeeeeee.

On Saturday, Drew and I decided to go to the State Fair o' Texas for some old school eating and drinking. Surprise. (I think I should change my blog title to "Eating and Drinking with Lauren and Drew". That's all I do and talk about on this damn thing.) Baylor and Tech had their football game at the Cotton Bowl and we were hoping they would be cleared out of the Fair by then - WRONG. Instead, we had to walk around and avoid Tech trash and defeated Baylor bears. Sigh. It was still fun though!!!

Corny Dogs! I'm the only person in the world I know that eats their's with only ketchup. So sue me.

A delicious cinnamon roll that Drew always has to get every time we're at the Fair. It's damn good. And soft and doughy and sweet and covered in frosting.

We also had heard great things about the Fried Oreos, so after much debate, we decided to wait in line for almost 30 minutes for these pups. I don't know if it was worth it or not...? They were good and Oreo-y (especially with a topping of Blue Bell ice cream for only 3 tickets more) but we didn't eat all of it and probably wouldn't get it again. But go crazy if you want to and try some too!

My boo wanted to flex his basketball muscles (as the former Top Outside Shooting Threat for Lake Highlands High School, have I ever mentioned that?) and promised me he would win us some UT paraphanelia. Sure enough, he sunk those baskets and made the dream come true. We now have a collection of UT basketballs that we had to cart around the Fair all day. But doesn't he look so cute and proud?

It was a really fun birthday week/weekend! And I'll try to be better about writing more frequently. See you later suckers.

Southbound 35

We went out of town in late August and early September to hang out and see friends, and I keep meaning to post stuff about it!

Drew and I decided to take a weekend away in Austin a few weeks ago to celebrate...our love! Or something. We both went to UT and going back to Austin is always fun for us - especially when we make lists of restaurants to frequent while we're there. The most stressful part is picking where to eat and what to do because there's SO MUCH!

Our hotel room at the Stephen F. Austin!

Another view of our hotel room!

Another great reason to be in Austin was to see my brother. He and his wife just moved there from Berlin to get his PhD at UT - he's evidently addicted to learning. A gene/hobby/interest that I was not blessed with. We went to dinner at Mandola's, a cute Italian restaurant that has the BEST PIZZA in the city!!! (In my opinion.) And then we pretended like we were young and still living the dream and went to Cain and Abel's for a few drinks. Sigh.

The next morning we stopped by John and Lauren's apartment and this is what we found greeting us at the door. Some may say it's fitting.

My brother showcasing their awesome place!!

The cutest chair in all the land in their apartment. She just picked these two fabrics to recover the chair with and voila, the coolest thing ever.

We also went to Kirbey Lane, THE quintessential Austin/college breakfast locale, and I ordered the Kirbey Queso as an appetizer to my breakfast. That's right. I got the Veggie Scramble because I'm super healthy and food concious, and Drew got the basic breakfast thingy majig - gingerbread pancakes and bacon and eggs and deliciousness. At some point during this breakfast and all the food photography, my brother accused me of being a Food Pornographer and indulging in Food Pornography. And you know what? I LIKED it. If loving food porn is wrong, then I don't wanna be right. This continued throughout the weekend.

Next up was a trip to South Congress to hit up the weirdo beardo shops and get some more food. There are lots of weirdo beardo people walking around there too, but I guess that's part of the fun.

A pair of boots I liked for myself at Allen's Boots. Perhaps I'll buy them sometime.

We needed something cool and refreshing on the hot summer day, so we stopped at a parking lot full of food trucks. They're all the rage right now, you know. A pink lemonade shaved ice and we were on our way to the next truck....

Hey Cupcake! Oh, hi! Great to see you.

This is just your basic, run o' the mill vanilla cupcake with chocolate icing, but it sure didn't TASTE basic or run o' the mill. It tasted like something I would have made myself but BETTER.

We then stopped by Abel's on the Lake for an afternoon margarita and to enjoy the sights on the lake. And the college kids acting like they all are supposed to. Ohhh to be young again! A quick stop by the hotel to nap and change, and we were on our way to our favorite place ever: MOONSHINE.

Moonshine has the best brunch in the state, and it's worth every damn penny. Drew chose to forego the brunch, much to my dismay, because he said he'd be miserable the rest of the day. SO WHAT. I am always willing to risk misery for the Moonshine brunch. However, we decided to go to dinner instead, which is the next best thing.

This is an elementary school caliber picture of my Ruby Red Slipper martini. Vodka, grapefruit juice, and champagne. Mmmmm.

I believe in Food Porn, this would be called the Money Shot. Ooooooh baby. That was some crab stuff rainbow trout with some veggies, corn salsa, and mac and cheese, of course. I think I ate every single crumb and was tempted to lick my plate. Sorry not sorry.

Kirk came and met us for a drink at our hotel, we got breakfast tacos in the morning (another major bonus) and we were on our way. It was so fun! I think we hit up everywhere we wanted to and successfully completed our food tour of Austin. (Side note: whenever people ask me how a trip to NYC, Austin, or anywhere else was, I usually say something like "It was fun! We pretty much ate our way through the city!" I wish I could say something else about my trips, but I suppose this is the life of a Food Pornographer.) We had a great time and can't wait to go back!

The Best of What's Around

Drew and I had the distinct pleasure of going to the Dave Matthews concert this weekend. This is Drew's 11th concert and I think my...6th. Maybe. Drew has loved DMB from day one and I'd like to think that he's gone to most of those 11 concerts with me. But maybe not.

We were fortunate enough to land PIT tickets, which is the closest we've ever been! We were about 12 feet from the stage and it was awesome. And we were two inches from catching a signed drumstick that Carter Beauford threw into the crowd!! Damnit!



We got to the concert at Coca Starplex (which is what it is called and what it should always be called) early, with a pizza from iFratelli's to binge on and all of our drink materials. We sat "tailgating" in the car for an hour or so, judging people and watching all the douche lords around us act a fool. I also had two friends that were there tailgating near us, so we finished up, made a fresh bev, and headed over to hang out with them and louge around for a little while before we went inside.

As we were nearing departure time to head into Starplex, Friend #1 says, "So...do you guys need anything before we go?" with a sly look in her eye. Anything? What does she mean? "What do you mean?" I ask. "LAUREN!", she says. "Come ON." while Friend #2 procedes to nod affirmatively and the two disappear behind the car. Drew and I stand there dumbfounded, not EXACTLY knowing what they're referring to, but feeling stupid nonetheless. We look at each other and he asks "What were they talking about?" and I shrug and reply "Drugs, maybe...? I have no idea." Hmm. Drew and I decide it's about time to go inside and check out the scene anyway, so instead of standing there sucking my thumb like a 12-year-old IDIOT, I walk around to the other side of the car where the Friends are now INSIDE the car, smoking the doja. Excellent. I was right. They encourage me to get in and get going and that everything will be fine, while I proceed to make up something about getting drug tested at my job and that Drew's ready to go inside and scout it out. I politely shut the door and let them continue to hotbox. See you guys inside!!

It's just funny to me that, while that stuff doesn't bother me, I had absolutely no clue what they were talking about as an almost 26 year old, and that I felt as stupid and idiotic and clueless as I did when I was in high school and other Friends acted the same way. I felt like the naive freshman at the party who wanted to act cool and like she fits in, when really...she has no clue what the hell is going on. I proceeded to beat myself up for feeling and acting so stupid all the way inside until we got to the PIT and all my troubles melted away.

The concert was awesome. He played some old stuff, some new stuff, some secret stuff I'd never heard, and some CLASSIC stuff that the crowd went nuts for. Drew and I were dancin the whole time like we too had hotboxed before the concert too - which might have something to do with the weed being smoked to the left, right, front, and back of us - and it was so much fun.

I love DMB for a number of reasons. First, he plays good music. Second, all his music makes me nostalgic. Third, during his concerts, he gives every single member of his band the opportunity to play by themselves for the crowd for a LONG ASS period of time, and Dave is just smiling and acting as happy as can be the whole time. He seems to genuinely love the people in his band and loves giving them their time to jam. Fourth, I like the people in his band, particularly Boyd Tinsley, who is a crazy mofo with long dreadlocks who wears zany outfits and goes bonkers on the violin.

Lastly, I love DMB because they've sort of been the background of Drew and I's relationship since I've known him. We first started becoming friends the summer before 9th grade, when I was obsessed with "Before These Crowded Streets" and made my mom take us to watch the guy's baseball games. Later, one of my earliest memories I have with Drew is me running up to him in 9th grade after school, outside waiting with all the kids for our parents to pick us up, and saying "DREW! I just got the 'Crash' album! It's my second Dave Matthews CD! I know what a Dave freak you are - aren't you proud of me??" And I remember Drew chuckling and saying he was proud of me and then he probably turned around to go shoot a basketball or something because he was super shy back in the day and didn't say much to me or any female, for that matter. I guess we started dating almost 2 years later (and many more Live DMB albums later) and we've been listening to Dave and going to his concerts together ever since. And the three of us lived happily ever after.

A great time was had by all! (Do I end every post like that? It's possible.)