Coupon Thieves

For all of you (I'm speaking to my husband) that have accused me of being sassy or rude, I'd like to present to you a note left by my crazy neighbor that lives a few units down. She's apparently REAL pissed that her Sunday newspaper is disappearing, so she posted a sign expressing those feelings on the fence by her front door.

WARNING: her note has profanity.  Sorry Mom and Dad.

I mean, she's from New York City, so maybe that's her excuse for the attitude.  I would like to remind her that she's in Texas now so if she's going to post her sassy sign, the thieves will probably be more receptive if she at least says "PLEASE"!  But for now, I'll just laugh at the craziness. :)

Man's Best Friend

So we all know my fear of big dogs.  Tyler used to have Blue - but when we moved in together, bringing Blue into the townhome was just not realistic, or fair to Blue.  He was a BIG dog. When he stood on his hind legs, him and I were shoulder to shoulder.  And there were only 5-10 lbs seperating us.  Eeek.  I still don't really love dogs. But I know that its really important to Tyler that we get a dog one day, so I've been trying to come to terms with the fact then when we do have a home with a yard, that getting a dog will be the first thing on our to-do list.

A friend of mine on Facebook had been posting some pictures of her new puppy, Brody.  Well, this puppy is STUNNING.  I found myself going to her page just to check out how her dog was growing.  I don't really know much about dogs or dogs breeds, so I messaged her to inquire about her beautiful dog.  Here's a screenshot of this pretty pup:

Gorgeous, right?  She told me he was an Australian Shepherd and that he was the best. dog. ever.  So I was intrigued and started researching them, and this is what I've found out:

1. They are one of the smartest breeds out there. They are easily trainable and are often the top performers in obedience school. I read an article that one lady had taught her Aussie his ABC's.  What does that mean, you ask? She would put out wooden block letters, and for example, she would say "B", and the dog would put his paw on the "B" block.  Ridiculous, right?
2. They are super loyal and aim to please their owners.  They LOVE their owners.  All pets do, right?  Well Aussies REALLY loves their owners.  That is one of the reasons they are super trainable, and they don't really have any behavior issues as long as you interact with it the way you're supposed to.
3. They are bred for herding - which means they have a TON of energy and endurance, and NEED a "job".  They require a few hours of exercise a day, whether its running, playing frisbee, or playing catch at the park. If they don't get regular activity, they may try to "herd" other pets (aka Max) or children (watch out kiddos!!!) by nipping at heels.  This also means they are a lot of work to get all that energy out. If you don't give them "jobs" they can be destructive.
4. They are medium dogs - females are 40-50 lbs and males are 50-60 lbs.  Half the size of Blue, and perfect size for Nikki. :)
5. They need to be socialized.  They love their owners but tend to be a little shy around strangers, so its best to socialize them while they are young and get them used to different sights and sounds - think dog park, restaurants (that allow dogs, of course) running trails, etc., anywhere they can go to meet other people and animals
6. They come in a few colors - tri colored, blue merle (Brody above is blue merle), red merle, and red.
7. The Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA) will not recognize the dog as an Aussie if his tail has not been docked, so they don't have tails!
8. When people have their first Aussie, they never get any other breed of dog because they love Aussies so much.

Tyler had been wanting a lab (everyone has a lab!) so I told him about Aussies.  He started doing a little research too, and was pretty intrigued.  Luckily there are several breeders in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, so we decided to call a few to see if we could come interact with some dogs.  So on Saturday (ready to get out of our furniture-less house) we drove over 200 miles to go see two breeders.  And we were sold.  Oh my goodness, these dogs are so great.  The way they look at their owners, you can just tell they love them SO MUCH.  Not to mention they are all gorgeous animals.  Some have blue eyes, some, even have an eye that is half blue and half brown - so unique!  Tyler really wants a dog that is going to be his best bud that he can run with and play with and wrestle with. We definitely liked one breeder over the other, and we're meeting with a third one next Sunday.  Here are some pics of some Aussies I found around the Internet so you can see how pretty they are!:

But don't worry about all this puppy talk. This furry fellow is still my main man:

Farm to Market

Last weekend Tyler and I were out and about quite a bit.  In addition to our impulse purchase of Happy Cow, we took a little trip down to the Dallas Farmer's Market.  I had actually only been down there briefly before, and it was pretty neat.  We went to eat at Pecan Lodge barbecue, which is inside this warehouse of sorts where several different food vendors are permanentely housed.  We walked in, and Pecan Lodge was stationed right at the front, and the line was wrapped around the corner of the counter, all the way down the hall.  Tyler was not thrilled with waiting, but I told him if the line is that long it must be worth the wait!  We waited about 30 minutes for our turn.  I ordered pork ribs and macaroni and cheese, and Tyler ordered a meat plate with ribs and sausage with pinto beans and then ordered banana pudding as dessert.  Yummmm......

My ribs were REAL good.  The rub on them was super peppery, I was a fan.  While we were there, we also found out that Pecan Lodge had been on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives!  When we got home, we definitely You Tubed the episode and the guy working the counter while we were there was the one that Guy interviewed.  Cool, huh?

After we ate, we decided to walk around since the weather, while super windy, was actually pretty nice.  There were so many vendors selling super colorful produce - it was really pretty!  Here are a few pics:

Of course they sell cactus leaves in Texas

Just a little skyline view from the market

All in all, a pretty fun weekend with my hubby.  Its amazing the fun things we can find to do when we are desperate to get out of our in-limbo townhome. :)  Speaking of, we just moved back into the hotel for the second (and last!) time, so we will be here until this Friday or Saturday.  Then things should be (relatively) back to normal for us!  We are totally looking forward to being back in our home!

Happy Cow

I have a white couch.  Why do I have a white couch? ... I have no idea....  I'm always terrified its going to get dirty. I'm scared someone is going to spill wine on it.  Or have dirty hands.  Or put their shoes on it.  Or drip red popsicle on it.  All of these things have happened to my white couch. And I've silently freaked out inside.  All I wanted was a clean, neutral colored couch in my life.  But it has become a huge source of anxiety (therefore giving Tyler anxiety as well.)  Well - its time for a new couch.  Not just any couch.  A sectional.  A GREY sectional.  So what did I do to remedy this?  I dragged Tyler sectional shopping this past weekend. He loved every second of it. :)

We have requirements for a sectional:

1. Must be able to accomodate two people laying down in different parts of the couch, not squished side by side
2. Must be comfy.  Some people like hard furniture because it gives them support.  We like furniture that feels like we're laying or sitting in a cloud.
3. Must has a longevity of 10-15 years. We're ready to lay some serious cash down on this couch, so we have to get a good cost per day rate out of it.
4. Must not show dirt and needs to be easy to clean.

And we found one we LOVE.  I introduce you to the Axis sectional by Crate & Barrel:

Picture this in grey microsuede

It meets all the requirements, plus some!  But of course it might be the most expensive one available at C&B.  So we'll just save our little pennies until we're ready, and I'll continue to be a white couch crazy person. :)

Discouraged that we couldn't purchase the couch right then and there, we walked across the street to Z Gallerie.  Z Gallerie might be one of my favorite stores.  It is totally my style, and the prices are pretty affordable.  And it just so happened they were having a 20% off sale!  There had been a piece of art there that I had been eyeing, and I've pinned twice in Pinterest, so I had to see it in person.  And we BOTH loved it.  I introduce you to Happy Cow:

Happy Cow

He's so cute and innocent looking, and he's got some good colors to pull from.  And its very Texas, and I kind of like making fun of Texas because Texas is just so......Texas.  So we made an impulse purchase, and now we have 4 foot x 4 foot Happy Cow sitting in our office area.  Not sure where his final home will be, but we'll decide that once the wood floors are finished next weekend. :)  We love our Happy Cow.  He makes us so happy!!

Fall Lust List, Part 2: Burgundy

So my new color must have (and everyone else's this fall) is burgundy. I think its a good color for brunettes, and, as my sweet husband pointed out for me, it can double as game-day gear.  I can look cute AND support our school without having to wear something that screams TEXAS A&M across the front of it.  I picked up a burgundy top from Zara a few weeks ago that I'm obsessed with (it has rhinestoned shoulders - I LOVE shoulder detail!) AND scored a sweet burgundy dress from Forever21 for only $18.  Can't wait to wear it to work once I get some new boots! (Hint, hint to my husband if he's reading - the Tory Burch ones I showed you would be a great Christmas present!)  Here are some other burgundy looks that I'm eyeing for this fall:

Burgundy, grey, black

Burgundy Monochromatic

Burgundy goes great with turquoise

Burgundy and camo

Do you guys like the burgundy look this fall?

Second Floor Redo: Part 3

So, finally, construction started at 9am, Monday, October 29.  Tyler and I went over to the house daily to check out the work, and things are moving right along!  They started with repairing the ceiling, painting, and then ripping out the wood floors and baseboards.  Today they will be installing the new wood floors, and then they have to acclimate for 7-10 days.  Tyler and I are now back in the townhome, confined to the 2nd floor.  We don't have a stove, so cooking will be minimal.  And we'll be back in the hotel for Thanksgiving when they have to sand and stain the floors, which kind of sucks, but we're going to seek out a super fabulous hotel Thanksgiving meal somewhere and bring leftovers home for little Max. :)  Here's the progression of work so far:

Day 1: Monday, October 29

Walking in for the first time. 

Covered in plastic

Hole repaired and sheetrock replaced!

Max just getting comfortable at the hotel

Day 2: Tuesday, October 30

More plastic to protect everything for painting

Just like new!

Day 3: Wednesday, October 31 (Happy Halloween to us!  BLAH!)

Wood floor torn up

Max, just hanging out in Tyler's suitcase

Day 4: Thursday, November 1

Some black paper stuff put down

Friday there wasn't any work to do since we were waiting on the floor guys. Floor was supposed to be installed on Monday, but of course the wood wasn't delivered in time, so its being delivered today.  Can't wait to see our raw, unfinished wood when I get home from work today!

PS - sorry for the quality of these pictures.  They're taken with my iPhone, not edited or anything.  I'm just trying to document the work!  I promise not all of my pictures will be as crappy as these!

Weekend Wrap-up

So its been brought to my attention that I'm slacking on the blog already - okay guys, I think I have a pretty good excuse being that Tyler and I have been living in a hotel out of suitcases for 7 days total.  I've been a little sidetracked - give a girl a break!  This week was super crazy busy at work and with extracurriculars, so luckily our hotel stay is mostly for storing our clothes for the week, keeping Max out of the way of construction guys, and providing a (not so comfy) bed for Tyler and I to sleep in at night.  I'll do a hotel post at a later date.  This post is about the other fun stuff that we've been doing!

After a super exhausting week, Tyler and I just wanted to get out of the hotel Friday night.  We decided to go to Eno's in the Bishops Art District.  Okay, Eno's has been around for a while, but Tyler and I only discovered it this summer when we went to dinner with Jamie and some other friends.  Its probably my favorite pizza place in town - it even beats out Fireside Pies.  Plus, I'm totally into going over the new bridge to get down to Oak Cliff - take a look at how cool this thing is:

Its kind of like a modern Brooklyn Bridge.  Pretty neat.  Eno's was delish as always.  We devoured a LARGE Central Pie. Bleh - I'll go to spinning this week.

Saturday we wanted to get out of the hotel, again, so we decided to take a little day trip to Fort Worth.  Tyler took me to a cute little Mexican Fusion place for lunch which was SUPER yummy, and we checked out the Trinity River, some shops, things like that.  Made for a nice little day trip.  We totally forgot we had scheduled the Salvation Army to come pick up all of Tyler's crap that is just sitting in the storage unit over in the ghetto Saturday afternoon.  Grrr.  Oh well.  We came back to Dallas later in the day and went to see the new Ben Affleck movie, Argo, and had popcorn for dinner.  Holy cow, that was a good movie.  Tyler and I both really liked it!

This morning we got to turn our clocks back, which is AWESOME, except for the fact that Max is the most needy cat in the world.  I think the hotel is really confusing him, being that we only have a living room, and a bedroom.  We close the door to the bedroom at night, and I think he thinks we've locked him in a room by himself, instead of locking him out of the bedroom.  He started crying and meowing and beating on the door at 5:30 in the morning.  Needless to say, we didn't get to take advantage of that extra hour of sleep this morning.  We got up and got ready for our newlywed class at HPUMC instead. After newlywed class, we decided to go to East Hampton Sandwich Company - its a new sandwich place over in Snyder Plaza.  I went a few weeks ago with Jamie and Steph (Vanderlinden) and really liked it then, so I thought Tyler would probably like it.  Tyler ordered the fried chicken sandwich and I got the grilled chicken sandwich.  It was REALLY good, I liked it better than the turkey, bacon, and avocado sandwich I got last time.  Look at that bun!:

Yum yum.  I'm now at the house doing all of our laundry, supposed to be working on my Suit School presentation, but decided to take a little break to update everyone on our very exciting weekend of trying to get out of our hotel.  I brought Max for company.  I'll leave you with his cute little face: