Just call me Aunt Sara

With permission from my sister, I am happy to announce that my big sister and her hubby Steve are expecting their first child in November right around Thanksgiving!! I could not be more excited and happy for them, and I cannot wait to be an Aunt and spoil he or she rotten :)

Congrats Kate and Steve. Y'all will make wonderful Parents!

I was told I don't blog enough...true statement.

Yes, it has been over a month since I last blogged. And, I am sure whoever reads this blog is getting tired of my apologies for not blogging. February/March were/are hectic. The other day I was informed by a dear friend of mine that she checks my blog every day only to find that there is not a new post. So, my friends, I will now attempt to remedy this disappointment :)

March was a good month, here are some highlights:

1. Elaine came to visit the first weekend!!!! Elaine is a bestie of mine from College days. We have such a good time together, and it makes me sad that we aren't in the same city. Because, if we were, there would definitely be one or two or three happy hours a week. That weekend we spent time doing retail therapy, eating, drinking, and chatting. I miss her so much! I didn't take any photos (so bad lately at the photo taking), but here is one from a while back so you know who I am referencing:

2. I was in a wedding in Galveston at the San Luis! (Follow along) - My brother in law's brother, Mike, married Titik, who is now my sisters, sister in law. I was asked by Titik to be in her wedding, and it was a beautiful wedding and fun weekend! Here are some photos:



At the Rehearsal Dinner (Titik is in the middle)



At the reception



The back of my hair was awesome.



PT and I <3

3. I also went to a few shows with Alisa - Zac Brown Band at the rodeo and the Sleeping Beauty Ballet, hosted book club, hung out with law folks, met the cutest baby RSL and got to spend some QT with his mommy, and celebrated many friends birthdays!


All in all a good month!! April is already shaping up to be a busy/good month. I'm arguing before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for the FIRST TIME EVER at the end of the Month - which strikes some anxiety/nerves, but should be a great experience. My parents are coming in town to stay with me for Easter weekend, first time they'll stay with me! So excited for that!

BTW - it says March 30th as the date up there, but really it should say, I'm a terrible blogger and this was posted on April 15, 2011.

The Art of Eating Alone

I have never been one to go see movies alone, go out to eat at restaurants alone, or go to a bar alone. In fact, I give major props to people who like to do these things (my boyfriend for example loves seeing movies by himself...). I'm not sure if it's the fear of being judged for being that girl eating by herself in a restaurant who must not have any friend, or the fact that I just like to eat with other people around.

Well, yesterday I had an epiphany of sorts. At lunch time, I ran to Dillards to run an errand. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, and the plan was to pick up Panera Bread (there isn't one near my office) and take it back and eat at my desk. Because the trip did not take as long, when I arrived at Panera with my Kindle in hand, and about 45 minutes to spare, I decided that today would be the day I would eat lunch alone at a restaurant. I placed my order, settled into a two seater booth, and opened up the Kindle to the book I am reading at the moment (the new Dean Koontz scary novel). And, MAN, did I enjoy it! Just the act of sitting there, eating my Pick Two, and reading my book, for 30 minutes, brought such relaxation to my day! I will no longer judge people who like to do this, because now I fully understand why!

Not to say that it'll become a habit of mine, because let's face it, I still enjoy eating with people more, but I think I'll reserve it for those hectic days where I just need some "Me" time.

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On another note - the Menu Monday Madness will return in two weeks! I have been coaching a Moot Court team the past 6 weeks, and well, we've practiced every night but monday and the weekends. So, not much time for cooking. But starting Feb. 28th, it'll be back in force!

Also - I had the BEST valentine's day/weekend with the boyfriend. He's amazing.

Oh, and one more thing - this will be me in July:

(Lake Powell)

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Cannot WAIT!

New Orleans 2010

Patrick and I belatedly celebrated our Anniversary by going to NOLA (both our First time) in December! We had a wonderfully crazy time.

We left H-town on Friday afternoon and arrived in NOLA an hour later.

We checked into our fab Hotel - The Royal Sonesta, which happened to be right on Bourbon St. It was decorated for Christmas with a Teddy Bear theme, and it looked absolutely beautiful inside. The hotel itself had a very french quarter feel to it. The rooms weren't huge but quaint, and it was very well kept! Not to mention the convenience of it being in the French Quarter, on Bourbon Street.





This is one of the Hallways lined with Trees with Teddy Bears as ornaments!

 After we checked in and got settled, we ventured out onto Bourbon Street. I won't go into much detail here, but we had a great time people watching, drinking Hurricanes, and listening to live Blues Music!



At Pat O'Briens!

  

At a Live Blues Bar.

On Saturday we had brunch at a restaurant in the Quarter, and then began discovering the Quarter. We walked a bunch, and went to see the Cathedral, which was beautiful.



The Cathedral and Me.



 We ended up taking a carriage ride around the Quarter. And I'm glad we did. We got to see a lot more than we otherwise would have!

We even ended up seeing a Wedding procession. The entire wedding walks all around the Cathedral Square, very New Orleans!

That night we had a romantical dinner at Broussard's, which came highly recommended by a co-worker of Patricks. It did not disappoint! We spent the rest of the night hanging out on Bourbon St.!

It was a GREAT trip and I really enjoyed the quality time with Patrick (he was CRAZY busy at work in Novemeber..and it continued into December, and now into January, but what's new :) ).



Us at Dinner (excuse the pale face - it happens in winter time).



It was a GREAT time and I can't wait to go back!

Monday Menu Madness (on a Tuesday)

Last week's meals were a success! The Stew was delicious (I'll post recipe later this week), the Rice meal was simple and tasty, and well I didn't make the pork meal.

This week is pretty busy so I'll only be making one meal tonight. And probably eating leftovers/Lean Cuisine/takeout the rest of the week.

So - the whopping ONE meal for this week is...drumroll please...

Mexican Chicken Casserole (from Cooking Light). I'm making it tonight, and using canned salsa and rotisserie chicken (taking the easy road).

Monday Menu Madness

I promise one of these days I'll post about something that doesn't involve food. I'm just dragging on getting pics uploaded....

This week's menu:

Sunday: Took Subway up to the boyfriend who was at work (yes, on a sunday).

Monday: Parmesan Rice and Chicken (Cooking Light), yes I have made this before, and really only a few weeks ago, but I really liked it and it is easy and this time i'm going to try to use less wine because the last time I made it, while good, tasted really heavy on wine.

Tuesday: Leftover or Sandwiches.

Wednesday: Bistro Beef Stew - Slow Cooker addition (from the slow cooker cookbook Alisa got me for Christmas).

Thursday: Pork Cutlets with marinara and penne pasta (WW recipe).


Last week:

I managed to make everything! Which is the first time, ha.

The Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts were delish! I strayed from the recipe a little bit though. For one, I didn't have sun dried tomatos, which I thought I did and so I didn't buy them at the store. After a search through every cupboard, the elusive sun-dried tomatoes did not turn up. So, instead I used a bit of this Sun dried tomato and basil soup mix that I had gotten in Fredericksburg, like not more than 1/2 a teaspoon, and mixed that in with the goat cheese, and it was great! And instead of "stuffing" the chicken breasts, I made roll ups. But overall I was really pleased with the recipe. I served it over brown rice which sopped up the leftover sauce.

The Chicken Tortilla Soup did not disappoint either - although I will add some black beans and some other stuff to give it more substance, but overall nice flavor and SPICY!

The meatloaf was good. It took longer to cook in the oven then the recipe said but it had a good flavor when I took it out after 1.2 hours. Not my favorite ever, but a good healthy option.

Lover of Books

I love to read. I always have. Atleast that's what my mom tells me. In law school, when I was reading boring law books, I found that reading a good non-law book before bed relaxed my mind. That still holds true now, even though I'm generally not reading law books any more (only at work). In any case, here is the 2010 list of the books I read this past year, I enjoyed most of them:

• Her Fearful Symmetry (by Audrey Niffenegger)
• Naked in Death (by J.D. Robb)
• The Girl Who Played with Fire (by Steig Larsson)
• In the Woods (by Tana French)
• The Monster of Florence (by Douglas Preston)
• The Carrie Diaries (by Candace Bushnel)
• Little Bee (by Chris Cleave)
• A Space Between Us (by Thrity Umbrigar)
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Next (by Steig Larsson)
• Just Don't Call me Ma'am (by Anna Mitchael)
• Commencement (by J. Courtney Sullivan)
• The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake (by Aimee Bender)
• The Art of Racing in the Rain (by Garth Stein)
• One Day (by David Nicholls)
• Outlander (by Diana Gabaldon)
• Dragonfly in Amber (by Diana Gabaldon)
• Voyager (by Diana Gabaldon)
• The Hunger Games (by Suzanne Collins)
• Catching Fire (by Suzanne Collins)
• The Mocking Jay (by Suzanna Collins)
• In Cold Blood (by Truman Capote)
• The Choice (by Nicholas Sparks) - Audio CD
• The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance (by Elna Baker)

So, I read 23 books this year! You might be asking yourself where I find time to do this, well I generally read at night, while wathing t.v. Or, I read a lot on vacations (atleast 5 of those books were read on various trips I took this year).

I look forward to 2011 and many many more books to explore!! Already on the list are:

• Harry Potter books (I've in fact only read one - the last one, and I read it after I saw the 6th movie because I wanted to know how it ended and didn't want to wait till 2010).
• I'm currently reading - the 4th Outlander book, and Jane Eyre.
• More classics (they are cheap cheap to buy on the Kindle).

There ya go! If you have any recommendations for a good book, let me know!