Glen Rose

....Well I've been quite the slacker with my blogging...

It's not to say that we haven't been on great adventures and that life is not going well.  It's quite the opposite.  We've been enjoying life and doing well in our careers.  All is going quite well.  However, I've missed sharing little pieces of my life in the blogosphere.  Specifically, I've missed challenging myself to take pictures, try new styles and document the adventures my husband and I go on.  

That being said, there's no long explanation needed.  I just need to jump right back in.  

So here are a few pictures from our latest trip to Glen Rose, Texas.

Our first stop was, Pie Peddlers, where we indulged in their Very Berry and Coconut Cream Pie. 

The two bakers who were also our servers treated us to some pie crust hearts with their "chocolate pudding", which was really just the filling for their chocolate pie.  Needless to say, I was not upset.

I saw this sign, driving through Glen Rose a few weeks ago for a work event and it pretty much inspired me to look up the town and see if it was a place worthy of a weekend trip.  Turns out the sign is for the restaurant, Hollywood & Vine.  We made our way there for lunch today and it was such a fun spot with delicious burgers. 

We stopped by Dinosaur Valley State Park, which has real dinosaur tracks in the park so considering my obsession with Jurassic Park, I was more than a little excited.  Unfortunately, the park a let down.  The tracks were barely recognizable and the park wasn't updated.  However, what we did next made up for my disappointment...

...We decided to also stop by Fossil Rim Wildlife Center and drove around feeding live animals.  It was stupid fun. 

Seriously, we could not stop laughing at how funny the whole experience was.  

We finished up our day with lunch and then a quick dessert at Storiebook Cafe.  I'm not gonna lie, I kept calling this place Storybrook, thanks to Once Upon a Time.  It was a restaurant/bookstore.  Since it was just my husband and I hanging out in there, I felt like Belle in Beauty and the Beast, sitting in a library, having a waiter give me whatever I wanted (which ended up being a brownie fudge supreme).  It was truly magical.  I snapped out of it when we had to pay for the sundae. 

Overall, we had an amazing Valentine's trip.  

We're not really the kind of people to celebrate Valentine's Day, but if Valentine's Day comes with random trips to small town Texas, I'm pretty sure we could become the kind of people who celebrate such occasions.

Any day with this guy is a reason to celebrate.  

Here's to love!

Ani

Tunnel Vision

We always have such a blast in Las Vegas, so here are a few pictures to show you what we did...and what I wore, of course.  

At Gordon Ramseys' restaurant, Burgr.  (such a lame name)

The Bachanel buffet at the Bellagio.  

My first visit to Topshop!

Tried on this bathing suit and it definitely looked way cuter on the hanger.

My favorite outfit from this week.  I almost bought the hat.

Dirty elevator mirror.

You bet your sweet bottom we bet on the Spurs. 

While our trip was brief, it was well worth the time.  We had a blast together and I even went indoor skydiving which is totally unlike anything I do ever...because I think I'm going to die if I ever to anything extreme.  

Coming back home, of course, was just a huge reality check.  I know it has to happen, but why can't we all just be on vacation forever? 

Good as Marigold

My sister in law had a blast snapping photos of me on during my graduation weekend.  It would be amazing to have her around more often so I didn't have to consistently put that pressure on my husband.  Either way, we were waiting for quite a long time to eat at Ellen's Southern Kitchen.  We wanted to check out this restaurant in West End because we'd had a friend recommend it to us and we heard they had chicken and waffles.  However, they did not have chicken and waffles, so we were pretty disappointed.  If it weren't for the amazing food we ended up ordering, that disappointment would have lingered.  Instead the only thing that lingered was the food in our bellies.  It was truly some of the best food I've ever had in Dallas.

My mom bought me this sweet dress in hopes that it would work for my brother's wedding, but I really wanted to stay true to the mustard color that my brother's fiance' was going for.  As you can see here, I was really happy with the dress I chose, but I was also really happy to get this cute trendy dress from my madre.  There's still something really sweet to me about having my mom treat me by buying me a new dress.  It was on sale of course because she's the one who taught me to be so frugal.  

It's going to be a busy next few weeks, so I'm really hoping I can get all of my priorities straight and stay focused.  Even though my students are on summer break, we are most definitely not, so I need to keep my head in it.  

Here's to super bright yellow dresses!

{Dress: Gift from my mom: Dillard's 

Shoes: Payless ($19.99)

Earrings: Gift from my sister: Francesca's ($16.99)}

Graduation

My cousins and I.  My cousin and I went to undergrad and graduate school together!

My best seminary girlfriend.

I love this picture with my parents.

My cutie husband and I.

My gorgeous and newly dreaded cousin, Vanessa.

Some of my closest friends in seminary.

This pretty much sums it up...

Siblings. :) 

Well, I am a few weeks late to post these but graduation was a huge highlight of this past month.  

This day has been four years coming and as I reflect back, I realize how much this decision to go to seminary and move to Dallas really has changed the trajectory of what I believed my life would look like...and that's not a terrible thing.   I am still able to maintain close relationships with my family.  I've made new friends here and find myself in a career that really stretches what I ever thought I believed I could accomplish.  My seminary education really did help me to figure out who I was and what I believed.  Now I feel like I can celebrate not only my education being fulfilled, but also the a better understanding of myself in ministry.  

So bummed I didn't get any pictures of my actual outfit.  Oh well. 

Have a great week!

Ani