Happy Monday!

Good morning friends and Happy Monday!

I'm actually not upset that it's Monday because it's really like Wednesday for me. I have a short week this week because I'm leaving town on Thursday. I'll let you know where I'm going in a different post ;)

This weekend was pretty eventful! It was spent with some friends, some family, the couch, and olymipic games. 

Friday started off right when I received the rest of my Engagement pictures! I posted about our teaser pictures in this post,  but if you'd like to see all of our pictures, click here to view the full gallery.  

Disclaimer: Some of them are ...uh...funny. You'll see for yourself. They aren't 100% but they'll make you laugh and say "aww". We aren't always the most photogenic or graceful people. :)

Shortly after I got home, we were off to the movies. We went to flix-brew house which is a lot like Alamo Drafthouse, where they serve food and drinks during the movie. I prefer Alamo, but our friends live so close to flix that it's really convenient. We saw The Watch. It was a funny movie, but I don't know if I'd recommend it...

Saturday morning I slept in until 7:30, which is two hours later than when I normally wake up. It was niiiiiice! Of course I couldn't let Scott sleep in, so we both woke up, ate cinnamon rolls and watched some Olympic games. I gave Mac a bath then got ready for my dress appointment. 

L:Macdroogles after his bath! He get SO crazy and charges the towel like he's a bull. Cracks me up!

R: All tuckered out laying in Scott's lap being a cuddle bug.

My future SIL met me for lunch before joining up with my dad and his family for the "buying of the dress". Ok, is it just me, or do wedding dresses run small?! They took my measurements for bust, waist, and hips and OMG I had to buy a dress 5 times my regular pants size because of my hips... talk about depressing!!! haha 

Saturday night I met up with some girlfriends from Texas State. We ate at Z Tejas on 6th. I was so happy to see them, especially our preggers friend Courtney! She's due in October and look how small she still is. I can't wait to meet her baby boy!

me, Maegan, Courtney, and Rachel

Maegan, Rachel and I headed down to W. 6th for some after dinner drinks that turned into a night of partying. I'm not one to go downtown very often so when I do, I make the best of it. W. 6th is the place to go to see people dressed like they are going to a slutty prom, and douch-bag guys... too harsh? But really, it's pretty bad! We had a great time people watching ;)

Sunday I took it easy. I was super tired and dehydrated from staying out until 1am. I was pretty worthless until about noon. While I cleaned house, Scott chopped down the rest of the tree(s). The plan was to cut down 1 dead tree in the backyard. 

 

L: 1 dead tree

R: What I came home to. 3. 3 trees gone! It looked like a war zone. 

Scott was very busy cleaning out all the branches and tree stumps. We've still got a lot of work ahead of us! We hope to plant an oak tree in the dead trees place.

As sad as I was to see our roommate move out, I was so happy to clean the bathroom and get it prepared for upgrading. Here's a picture of it currently. We aren't going to do a huge remodel, but we plan on getting a new medicine cabinet/mirror, repaint, and put up my bathroom set. It will make our guest bathroom look SO MUCH BETTER! The color in there is so dark, and the paint is starting to peel. I can't wait to get a fresh coat of paint in there.

Stay tuned for the "remodel" and have a great week!

said YES to the dress!

This weekend I've got exciting plans! I am going to purchase and get sized for my wedding dress!!! I am so very excited! 

I wish I could reveal a picture of it, but then I'd give the surprise away and you don't want that!

Let me tell you a little bit about it instead :)

• It is designed by Lazaro Perez, a part of the Tara Keely collection. 

• I'm buying it from Blush Bridal Lounge here in Austin. I highly recommend this little boutique. They have a great selection of dresses spanning from $700-3,000 which is reasonable for mostly anyone's budget for their wedding dress. They were super helpful and accommodating. They have deals there that if you buy your dress, veil, head piece, etc, then they will offer a discount of 20% off. Pretty awesome, huh?

• It was the very first dress I tried on and after about 20, I'm still in love with the first one.

• ....and it's white :)

I don't want to give away too much but I can say that it is very me and exactly what I was looking for!  I can't wait until I get to show everyone, especially Scott.

Buuuuut you'll have to wait another 8.5 months :)

Lets kinect

If you have a husband/boyfriend/fiance or gamer friend then most likely you're familiar with the XBOX Kinect. If you are unsure what it is, it's like the wii except you don't have to hold any controllers. There is a little sensor that scans your body and catches your movement. Very cool stuff!

Scott and I have had the Kinect for a pretty long time now and have been trying out some games. But to be honest, we don't use it as often as we should. We played with it last night and realized that it REALLY works you out! Scott quoted, "We need to do this more often" in a full blown sweat. We were both sore and out of breath by the time we finished. 

Here are a few games that we found to be fun and beneficial for "working out".

Wipeout: The levels on this game are listed as episodes like on the show. It's pretty hilarious trying to play this game. You have to do a lot of jumping, running in place and leaning from side to side. It doesn't catch your movement as well as other games, but it's still fun to try. It's a lot harder than other games too, but very funny! I want to have people over to play this one! 

Kinect Adventures: This is a general game that I believe comes with the kinect when you buy it. It's fun for multiplayer use and it's pretty easy. The games are things like water rafting, jumping over and ducking under poles, and using your arms and legs to collect coins.

Your shape: Fitness Evolved 2012: Last night was our first time to try this game and I really liked it! It was like going to a gym class in your own living room. If you're one of these people that like to take a class with an instructor than this is your game. Not only is it a work out video, but you can see all your movement on TV. Super cool! It also keeps track of burnt calories and points earned, etc. I love this kind of stuff so I really enjoyed this game. This game has activities like jumping rope, cardio workouts, and yoga.
I can't wait to try more! 

Now for some embarrassment...

Scott playing wipeout...Hilarious!!!

This is from the "Your Shape" game. This is me jumping rope. It's kind of like guitar hero for your feet. You have to synchronize your feet with the feet on the screen as they scroll down.

I'm not saying these are great for serious weight loss or muscle building, but they are a quick workout and FUN!... Much better than what most people(me) usually do when they get home, which is nothing. I usually come home, eat dinner, maybe watch TV, take a shower then go to bed. At least you can get a little "workout" in even if it's only 30 minutes and have a good time doing it! Also, I'm sure it would be a great time if you had friends over to do it with you.

 

p.s. New shoes :)

my feet are singing

because I got new shoes!!!

After researching online for what seems like forever, I finally found some shoes to go try on. I ventured out after work to this cute family owned sports shop called 1379 sports. I was looking forward to having someone check out my feet, look at how I walked, and pick out a shoe that would fit to a T. I was there for about 30 minutes and tried on three pairs of shoes. I ended up going with these. I love the bright colors and how light they feel. I didn't necessarily like the price, but I don't think you can put a price on comfort and the wellbeing of my aching feet!

 

I found out that my old shoes were a size and half too small, yikes! No wonder my feet were in so much pain! Turns out running shoes need to be one size bigger than your everyday shoes. I'm so thankful for finding that out and I'm so curious as to why I never went to a real shoe store to begin with. I'm so anxious to try these suckers out and to see what a difference they make.

On another note, the person at the shoe store said I was developing a bunion on my right foot...SAD DAY! Has anyone else suffered from a bunion? I don't think mine is in the danger zone yet, but I'd like to keep it under control. Damn these wide feet of mine!

 Happy Wednesday friends!



zumba virgin

NO MORE!!!


Yes, you read that right, I WAS a zumba virgin... that is until yesterday. Sadly, I wasn't at Ruthie's class, but I was trying out a class that is held at my office. I have found SO many cool things that come with working for the state. Here is a list of some of the bad ass benefits I get (just to name a few)...

1. Work out classes held at two different times throughout the day... in my building! There are a variety of classes like zumba, zumba toning, yoga, strength training, and kickboxing. They all can be done during my lunch break and they are all FREE!!! I love that four letter word.

2. Local produce is sold to state employees from farmers around Texas. You can buy them on a weekly basis and it's only $20. It's cool because you are helping out local farmers and getting fresh produce weekly. It's a pretty sweet deal and they are right across the street from us.

3. My health insurance is completely free. It doesn't come out of my monthly salary, just flat out paid for.

4. There is a special DMV for state employees that takes about 10 minutes to renew a drivers license just two blocks from my office.

5. Discounts at hotels, restaurants, and other businesses in the downtown area.

6. Parking in multiple parking garages for free...there's that word again.

And so so much more! I'm so pleased with how the zumba class went yesterday. I can't wait to try the other ones. 

On another note, my heart is so saddened with the tragedy that happened in Colorado. I'm praying for those people and their families. It's such a sad story :(

I hope you have a great weekend

stay-cation

Yesterday at work, my office held a potluck with the theme of a "stay-cation". Which meant people could dress in a "what you'd be wearing on vacation" outfit for the day and bring in a dish to share. Since we some of us dress nice on a daily basis, we took advantage of wearing more relaxed clothes like shorts, jeans, or a flow-y dress.





I dressed as if I were hiking, like when we were in New Mexico, for the stay-cation. It was the best excuse to come into work in my most comfortable clothes. Pretty awesome, right?!

They had a HUGE spread of food from dips, pasta salad, wings, pizza, cakes and my favorite, SNO CONES!

 I was a happy girl! Definitely a fun way to break up the work week.

Cheers y'all!

Penne pasta with prosciutto & vodka sauce

This dish is seriously to die for!!!

I got the recipe years ago from an ex-boyfriend but he originally found it in The Sopranos Family Cookbook under Penne all Vodka. Needless to say, this dish is the bomb! 

It happens to be Scott's favorite dish I make, so I'm excited to share the recipe :)

This is what you need: 

• 1 lb penne pasta
• 1/4 thinly sliced prosciutto ham, chopped
• 28 oz diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbs chopped garlic
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Saute olive oil and garlic. Combine tomatoes, chopped prosciutto, vodka and crushed red pepper. Let simmer for 10 minutes on medium heat. I leave it uncovered. 

While you're combining those things, start boiling water for penne. Cook and drain while ingredients are simmering. 

Add the heavy cream and cook for 2 minutes on LOW heat. 

Mix penne and sauce together, while adding the parmesan cheese throughout. 

Serve and enjoy! 

p.s. I love how Mac always makes an appearance in my pictures. Pretty funny if you ask me.

weekend off

 Happy Monday friends!

This weekend was my first weekend off and I took full advantage of it.

I started it off by joining my maid of honor, Bailey and our moms and some others for a quick happy hour and headed straight over to Chuy's for a friends Birthday dinner. Ah, mexican food, margaritas, and good friends...does it get much better than that?! It was great! Also, Scott was out of town for the night so I got the whole bed to myself, which meant sleeping like an x! My favorite. 

Mac watching me read.

Saturday morning, I woke up late, like 8 o'clock and laid in bed reading allll morning long! It was wonderful! I'm trying to finish up Fifty Shades before I start my new book, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, but I don't think it's going to happen. I'm a little over half way through with the second one and to be honest I just want to be done with it. It's kinda dragging for me. Anyone feel the same way? Also has anyone read Miss P?

 It sounds pretty spooky....

I finished my Saturday with a day full of shopping and a friends pot luck. We didn't stay long, because Scott and I both started feeling pretty bad, but it was a good time :)

Sunday Scott and I ventured out to HEB for our weekly grocery trip and almost got completely creamed on the way there. It was the closest I've come to getting in a car wreck and it scared the crap out of me. A lady ran a red light and we almost t-boned her. If Scott wasn't with me, I definitely would have gotten in my first wreck. :( Very scary to think about. God was looking out for us for sure. 

We came home and got some chores done and relaxed! The storm yesterday was the perfect ending to a lazy Sunday. North Austin got a record amount of rain, 4.57 inches, crazy!

Hooray for organization!

Here's to another week workin for the man... I'm loving the new job and I'm finally getting a routine down. I'm pretty excited for my next weekend off. We're going to be busy! I'm hoping to post more this coming week!

random thoughts at this moment

• Is it just me, or do you get a summer cold too? It severely sucks and I wish I had a voice right now.
• Ok, so I started this new job. Like any other regular person, I have questions about it. Girl in the office, I'd appreciate it if you helped me out instead of acting like it's a big inconvenience for you to answer a few questions, k?! K.
• On a good note, Scott got me a mophie iPhone cover for my birthday! (my Birthday isn't until September). This is definitely the best cover you could get because it charges your phone when it starts loosing power and protects it!
• I'm off this weekend for the first time! I'm hoping to see some friends, clean house, get some rest, get rid of my cold, and go to church with Annie. 
• I'm going to eat ramen noodles tonight and enjoy it. No shame here.
• Scott and I leave for the East coast in three weeks!
• Speaking of Scott, I came home last night, at a very late hour, to two dozen pink roses. I asked what the occasion was for and he told me that it was our second anniversary of our first date. Sweet of him to remember, I'll take note of that.
• I attended my first book club meeting last night with some awesome ladies. I am SO pumped about beginning our first book and looking forward to our next meeting. I'm hoping to post a little book report at the end of each book we read so I can share my thoughts with you guys!
•  I loved seeing people I hadn't seen in ages last night and also meeting new people. It was a great time and I can't wait to see more of you at the next meeting.

I have to go eat my ramen now. Pray I get my voice back for tomorrow. It's annoying not being able to talk, yall! 

My first week

So I survived my first week on the job! To be fair, it was a very easy week. I had two orientations, a staff meeting, trainings, and had the 4th off. Ah, the life!

Check out my cute cubie! I had a lot of fun bring in stuff that I already had. Plus, it's one less thing in the guest bedroom...

I'll be sure to update more once I get in the swing of things. I'm still trying to get my routine down and this week was kind of wonky. 

Peace!
Brooke


p.s. This is my last weekend at HD!

life via my iPhone

jog last week at walnut creek park

our sporadic date night. rode the train down and bar hopped on our bikes.

played giant connect 4

my 4th of july getup before the holiday

my 4th of july morning

we popped fireworks with friends and had a blast!!! (pun intended)

cuddlebugs...mac just loves me, can you tell?

Follow me on instagram @brookehouston or twitter @br00ke_star for other fun pictures!

BHLDN

aka...Beholden

What is Beholden you might ask?

Beholden is a store that carries bridal accessories, dresses, crafty doodads for your wedding day, and lots more. I wouldn't say it's for just any bride though. It's definitely got a unique style and vintage feel.

Is anyone fan of Anthropology prices stores? Well you are in for a treat! The creators of anthropology came up with Beholden, which means this store has the latest fashions, and the most unique designs. Their motto in creating this store was to help brides get unique ideas for their big day that will reflect their personalities completely. 

via

Their dresses are just stunning and SO different!!!

But there is a catch! These stores only located in two places, Chicago and Houston. You can always order things online, but a wedding dress...I don't think so, at least I wouldn't!

Sooo call me crazy, but my friend Anne and I took a trip up to Houston on Friday. We were invited to attend a three hour floral and design event by Ashley Bailey of Byrd Collective hosted by Beholden! We were super pumped. We did realize we were driving a total number of six hours for a three hour show but it was SO worth it!!! I would recommend anyone to go visit beholden, bride or not. They had regular dresses there that were so freakin cute. Also, if anyone needs a florist, Ashley travels. She is based out of Austin, but can go pretty much anywhere. 

The chairs with our names...we felt important :)

Ashley gave me this flower for my hair right when we go there. I'm thinking about doing a tutorial on this hair style because a lot of people compliment me on it when I wear it like this. It's funny because I do my hair like this when it's wet and I don't want to do anything else with it. It's SO easy! :) 

I hope some of you find this helpful! If not, at least go to the store if you're near the Houston or Chicago area, you won't be disappointed! 

XOXO Brooke