Homemade Sushi

So about a year ago, Austin and I went to a Central Market Sushi class.  We learned how to make many different kinds of sushi.  It was a blast!

We hadn't tried to make it on our own until a week ago.  For Christmas, my sister got Austin a sushi set, with chopsticks, sushi press, etc.  We planned a double date at their house and all cooked sushi together!

It was so much fun!  We all made at least one roll each and were very creative about what we put in each....made our own recipes! It was a lot easier than I had thought and can't wait to do it again soon.

Christmas Craft

Thanks to Pinterest, I got the idea to make a wedding ornament for both of my sisters.  I cut up their wedding invitations and curled each piece.  I put them in the clear ball I found at Hobby Lobby and tied a ribbon.  Simple as that, but they both loved it and I loved making it for them.  It will remind them of their special day every Christmas!

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

The Best Time of the Year

Christmas time is my favorite time of year.  It has been a tradition for the last couple of years to all gather at Austin's parents house the weekend after Thanksgiving to decorate the Christmas tree and eat a delicious dinner.  This year was a little different because we had 3 little boys "helping" us decorate.  They LOVED all of the ornaments, which led to the bottom of the tree being completely covered and the top being a little bare.  We tried to take a picture of all 3 of them, but it was a bit more of a challenge then we had hoped.  :)
Here are my little buddies in their new pajamas!

Another reason I love this time of year is because it is my birthday month!  I am a huge fan of birthdays and definitely talk about my birthday for a whole month (sorry to all of those that had to listen to me for so long!).  My sweet sister and boyfriend surprised me with a Happy Hour the night before my birthday! All of my favorite people were there, which just made my birthday extra special. 

On my actual birthday, I used my "Gift of Time" at school and left at 2:00. Austin came over and we tried to fish in the lake behind my new townhouse.  We didn't catch anything, but it was fun to just hang out with him during the day!  That night, we headed to my sisters for a fun family dinner which included steak, fingerling potatoes, green beans, and Caesar salad.  It was delicious!

Finally, Austin and I traveled to Fort Worth on Friday night to eat at our favorite restaurant. Nona Tatta is the best Italian food I have ever had, besides in actual Italy.  We met Will and Katie at The Usual (bar in FW) and ate a delicious meal.  As an early Christmas gift, I surprised Austin with a night at the Omni in downtown FW.  When we don't spend the night, we have to worry about leaving too late and this way we could enjoy the whole night and day.  We headed to the hotel and Austin got us upgraded to a suite!!  We had a HUGE room with the most amazing shower.... 5 spickets where water sprayed out! We slept in and headed to Old Neighborhood Grill, TCU bookstore, and drove by Austins old house! I LOVE Fort Worth!!

Great birthday! Cant wait for next year!

Thanksgiving Pies and a Great Surprise

I love Thanksgiving! The food, the family, and especially the pie making.  Austin and I have been in charge of making pies the last couple of years and this year we made 3...2 apple pies and 1 fudge pie.  I took a couple of pictures while we cooked, but I forgot to take the pictures of the final product... Whoops!

Apple pies (too bad I didn't take final pictures... they looked so pretty)

 Fudge Pie!

And my surprise....
That Sunday, I wanted to give Austin a little treat!  I decided he needed a little holiday cheer in his apartment, so I went shopping!  To Target I went and purchased a tree, lights, ornaments, and holiday kitchen towels.  The best part was I found a pickle ornament, which has been a Winans family tradition for years (apparently its  a German tradition! ).  He was very excited to come home from work and see this!

I love the holidays! Makes me happy!

I'm Back!!!

Hello blog world! It has been way too long! Life has gotten in the way and I have not found time to sit down and write.  Today is the day! I will not bore you with all the details of my life since August 1st, but I will give a quick highlight.

So far, I have have changed grades (now I teach 3rd).... not my favorite year of teaching, but staying positive it will get better. 

I have gone to my first Ole Miss football game since I graduated! Although we are not a great team this year, we had a blast visiting and going to The Grove.  This time, Austin was able to come with me.  We drove ALL the way to Memphis on Friday (I am not much for driving... Austins idea) and had a great night in Memphis.  We were able to see Brooke and Daniels new house and Emily and Lukes new Memphis apartment.  Saturday morning, we all got ready for The Grove and began our drive to Oxford.  We had a blast catching up with friends, eating delicious Grove food, and even had fun in watching the Rebels play, until the 3rd quarter.  We had a late dinner at Rib Cage and made our way back to Dallas on Sunday morning.  We had a blast!!

Next stop... my amazing trip to L.A. to see Tracy and Kirby!

Lauren and I decided to make a trip to visit them in August!  We finally booked our flights for October 29th and we headed out.

Our 1st stop was Santa Monica

Next stop.... Tracy and Lauren ran a half marathon, while I walked 1/2 of the half marathon cheering them on and looking for celebraties.  I was so incredibly proud of them!

Third was our private, VIP tour of Warner Bros. studios given by Tracy herself.  We were unable to take pictures on the Ellen set, but I was able to take pictures outside of the Friends studio and on the set of Gilmore Girls, Hart of Dixie, and Pretty Little Liars.

 Finally and most importantly, we went to The Ellen show! It was a blast! It was hard work screaming and dancing the whole time, but totally worth every minute of it! We felt so special to be able to have that opportunity!

So that is basically the highlights of my life in a nutshell!  I promise to be better about blogging!

Inspiration

This summer, I have read more books than I think I have in my life.  I know that is sad, but its better late than never.  One of my favorites and the book I just finished last night is The Pioneer Woman.

 

Most of you recognize her as a chef and a great blogger.  She just recently wrote this book based on her love story, which has given me new inspiration in my own life.

As I was reading, I kept on thinking, "Why don't I do this for Austin?" or "Why doesn't he do this for me?". Everything they did for each other was just so simple, but made the biggest difference in their relationship.  They knew how to keep the spark in their relationship by completing simple acts, such as cooking dinner for each other, calling each other 5 minutes after they were apart just to say he missed her, or even taking charge...telling her he will be there at 5:00 to pick her up, no questions asked.  Sounds silly, but reading this book has shown me that little acts of kindness and spontaneity can make the biggest difference in a relationship.  Its easy to just get in to a habit that "works" for your schedule, instead of thinking "what can I do for the other person" or "how can I make tonight different than our typical nights"?

So, in my first act of change, I decided to make a surprise dinner for Austin.  I told him I would be over at 6:00, without telling him what I would be doing.  I went to Central Market and picked up all of the groceries and was at his door promptly at 6:00.  The look on his face was priceless and I knew right there that it was going to be a perfect night!  I told him I was making a change and sparking up our relationship....that I had been lazy.  Of coarse, he said he had been lazy too, so we decided now was a better time than any to make the change!

I was so proud of my cooking (he said it was the best meal I had ever made) and boy was it delicious!! I made Pesto Chicken (thanks Central Market)

 Fusilli Pasta with Spinach and Asiago Cheese.....amazing! (thanks to Giada)

 Oven-Roasted Asparagus (Pioneer Woman)

 And of coarse....Turtle Torture Ice Cream!!

The final product:

Definitely the best night of summer and I felt so great to be able to do something fun for Austin!  I suggest everyone read the book....might be my favorite book so far!!

Rancho Mirando

This past weekend, Austin and I headed out to Wimberley, Texas for Winans family vacation.  We had a big house in the hill country with amazing views! We swam in our own private pool, went to a vineyard, played games, and ate delicious food.  I wished we could have stayed the whole week!

 Our View!

 

Turkeys

 Swim Time

   

 Play time

 Driftwood Winery

The picture no one wanted to take! :)