Let the Festivities Begin!

I feel like the title of this post is somewhat repetative.  Over the past year, this will be wedding number three we have been blessed to be apart of (See Wedding #1 and Wedding #2)  This wedding will be no different than the others- simply beautiful.  Last May, Jarrett asked my oh-so-precious Ashley to be his wife- and she said 'yes' :)  With the Big Day being exactly 2 months away (2/16/2011) all the 'important' business is just about taken care of and all the fun stuff is well underway!  This past Sunday marked the first of her showers- The Bridal Shower- hosted by her Bridesmaids.  Brio Tuscan Grille in Southlake served as a beautiful location for our event.  It was the perfect space, elegantly fit for a queen, or a Bride.

Our Cake Table (before the food made it's appearance..)  Jordan made the most precious 'Bride-to-Be cut out with her Cricket

The cake!  My sweet friend Macy and The Cozy Cakery made this gorgeous (and delicious) cake- perfect with her wedding color theme, complete with a 'D' for Dunaway

 The Bride making the rounds to her guests

 Look at all those presents!!  Most of the guests played along with the theme and adorned Ashley's packages in yellow and slate grey.

 The centerpieces- I'm sad because the pictures do not do justice to how cute they actually were..

 Time for grub!  The shower was at 2pm, so appetizers and mimosas made for great afternoon fare.  Ashley started the line with her plate first :)

Presents!!  So fun-  and its written all over her face.

As a thank-you for hosting Ashley gave the cutest hostess gift- look at these precious aprons!!  Right up my alley, of course :)  Maids from left to right: Lorin, Jenna, Me, MOH Katie, MOH Heather (sorry H..only pic I got!), and Jordan (recently engaged to Jarrett's brother!!)

 A Bride and her Bridesmaids

 Ashley with her Mom, Deb and future Mother-in-Law, Marianne

 Love this girl

 Ashley and her Made of Honor (s)

 What a beautiful day it was at Brio!!  They did an amazing job serving our party of guests and I am so pleased with the way the entire afternoon went.  I'm sad my bridesmaid duties prevented me from taking more pictures of her opening gifts and such- but I was 'man-ing' the trash bag.  Hopefully I can steal some from the other girls more responsible with the picture taking :)

One shower down..another next weekend..and I just recieved the couple's shower invite in the mail- A Martini Masquerade in a couple weeks!  So cute, so fun, so EXCITING! 

Countdown to 4-16-2011..

Snowed..errr ICE-D In

This morning I woke up to another crazy shift in weather (it is 17 degrees out there according to Fox 4 News), complete with school and business closings as well as the intermitent shutting down of the 635 overpass- that would be the key component to my morning commute. Jordan was awake at 5am with me this morning, getting ready for his 24 hour shift at the fire station.  He insisted that I stay home, twisting my arm and hiding my keys.  Ok..not that extreme.  "Do you think you can stay home today since I can't drive you?" ... "Yes." That was the end of it.  I had a rather rough day yesterday, and the sheet of ice covering my driveway leaving me trapped in my garage couldn't have had better timing.  God has His way, and I'm so thankful for that.

So, what do I do at 6am? I couldn't possibly go back to sleep, I was halfway ready for work before I decided to stay home.  After last week's 4 days of ice/snow and the overkill of news coverage, I would say that I'm over the news. Over it.  After washing my half-done face clean, I adorned some of Jordan's old hunting thermals and made myself comfortable in our bed next to my Jellybean (My 7 year old stuffed purple Build-A-Bear Jordan gave me while we were still dating- can't sleep without it..pretty sure she made the trip on our honeymoon, too!)  Flipping through channels I remembered Jess telling me that she watched Saved by the Bell before work one day- umm, hello..FAVorite show ever.  As tacky as the 80's show can be, it will never get old.

So..SBTB kept me awake and entertained for an hour, enjoying every minute of it while I drank my coffee. (Weekdays on TBS @ 7am) I plan on continuing my day with Fresh Prince, Full House, King of Queens, Friends, and a plethora of various Food Network favorites.

Looking forward to my 'snow day'.  Hope you are staying warm, too!

Finishing Strong

Last week was..well..cold and plain typical for Texas weather.  For three days temps barely reached 20 degrees and resulted in freezing rain and horrible road conditions due to ice.  And then there was the slow rides to work, relying on the man in my life to drive me to and from the quiet (and empty) hospital ..but it did allow us to share our morning cup of Joe together. (Ahem, I would secretly take snow if it promises that sweet Jordan will drive me) 

Friday, I woke to 6 inches of snow outside.  So, I patiently waited for Jordan to arrive home from the fire station so we could share a cup of coffee on the way to take me to work :) OnThursday night, I thought it beneficial to park on the street because our driveway is so steep and was an ice rink-impossible to pull out onto without losing control and landing in the living room of the people we share the alley with.  This provided little relief..my tires were a good 2 inches underneath frozen ice on the street.

 Our backyard :)  Kind of resembles the 12.5 inches we got last February..

 These would be the neighbors I mentioned before.  They probably wouldn't appreciate a vehicle interrupting the morning news. (I'm standing in the middle of my garage..eye level to the top of the tree, if that can paint a picture of how steep our driveway is..)

After a somewhat of a lazy Saturday of un-thawing and cooking/prep for the week-Sunday we invited John, Jessica, and Prego over to watch the big Super Bowl game. I think Prego was quite comfy in my hubby's lap for the majority of the game.

We cooked up a delicous meal (aside from my scalloped potato disaster of a side dish) and we topped off the evening with dessert courtesy of the Wingfield's: Rocky Road covered candied apples.  

Not quite the 'action' shot I was going for, John..but really don't expect anything less from you, Goofy.  We love you, anyway.

Finishing my weekend with great laughter and even better friends never fails in leaving me fully prepared and ready for a great week ahead.

 Go..Packers?  Yea..I think we were going for Green Bay. 

A Prize, or Two

Not quite sure how I end up getting to this point.. a month with no posting to my sweet little blog.  How neglected it must feel?  I read plenty..but find a hard time keeping up with my own.  So.. Whats new with this Massey crew..

Last week I was surprised to have recieved a complimentary issue of Simple and Delicious Magazine.  I apparently won a place as runner up in their Citrus Recipe Contest for my Salsa Roja.  If you do not place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd you don't get a phone call..but I did win a year long subscription to this Taste of Home sub-magazine :)  AND I still ran through the door from the mailbox yippee-ing, and hoot'n'holler-ing.  Causing increased rolling of my husband's eyes.  I happen to consume my semi-homemade salsa by the gallon on a weekly basis (ok- with help from Jordan..and I must confess, I haven't made it in awhile..) It is nice to be acknowledged by someone other than my precious husband about how wonderful my cooking is. (Insert slight sarcasm here)

I also placed in a slow-cooker recipe contest in the Taste of Home August/September 2010 issue for my BBQ Chicken Baked Potatoes :) This recipe went in their 2011 Taste of Home Annual Recipes cookbook- which I got as a freebie as well. 

Chocolate Broccoli seems to be doing quite well for herself-I think there is prize monies on it's way for a recipe contest I just received notice for..  ;)



Pretty neat-o, right?  I think so, anyway..

Almost Missed It

For Christmas my sweet mother-in-law absolutely spoiled me.  I mean it.  I'm actually still is squirming with excitement to think about all of the thoughtful gifts I recieved. One in particular has unexpectedly become my favorite.  Three words..MAC Paint Pot. If you have a remote clue what I am talking about- I could end this post right now and provide justice to this product- but for sake of others who have not yet had the privalege to hear/see/sample this make-up product- I will continue on.  This gift sat in it's box for about 4 days after Christmas.. partly because I didn't work up the energy to put on clothes, let alone makeup. And the other part is because I was almost scared to use it!  I didn't know what it was for.  I found out through a random text from MIL, Bree.  She must have had the 'Mom' radar up and knew I was avoiding her gift.  She told me that she used it for priming her eyelids before application of eyeshadow.  Hummmm.  Okay.  I'll try. What in the world was I waiiiitttting on?! 

This stuff works wonders. I have mine in Painterly, a creamy nude beige color, but they are also available in a wide variety of other colors, not all for the way I use it.. most have color and are meant to be long lasting.
The paint pot preps your lids for the eyeshadow you are about to apply--intensifying the color of your shadows, making them super vibrant. Taking less time to apply because your first swipe of the brush was enough. (May save you money, too!  Less eyeshadow = longer lasting!)  I've also noticed that it keeps the eye makeup you’re wearing in place, preventing creases, and looking great all day!

Hopefully you will find this product as wonderful as I do!  I am really dissapointed in myself for even the contemplation of returning it.  Thanks, Bree for my fabulous gift!

Year in Review | 2010

As I started to prepare and think over this past year- I almost became overwhelmed with (fun) memories.  Choosing just one thing from each month was such a challenge- so here I am with one heck of a long post to share.  (Soowwwweeyy)

January 2010

VEGAS, baby!  This picture is probably my favorite picture from the entire year.  A New Year's Kiss at midnight.

Spending our winter vaca with the Wingfield's was a blasty blast- Hello from the Vegas Strip!

 February

Record breaking snowfall in Dallas. 

Made for silly times in the snow with my fellow Presby peeps.

March

My first contest winning-magazine-worthy recipe!  My Cinnamon-Toffee Croissant Bread Pudding debuted in Country Woman Magazine.

I was sneaky and planned a surprise birthday party with all of Jordan's closest of our firefighter family for his 28th birthday.  It snowed on this night, too!

April

I met one of my role models, Giada DeLaurentiis (for a second time!) at a book signing in Dallas.  Love her.

 Jenna tied the knot with the love of her life in a beautiful Stockyard celebration

May

Partrick Austin graduated High School!

Love my brothers

 Ashley and Jarrett got engaged, too!!

 June

The end of my long traveled journey to RD-hood

July

We took (another) mini vaca to a sweet B&B with the Wingfield's to the Hill Country- Llano, Texas to be exact. 

Our adventures on this trip make for fun memories- I still chuckle to look at this picture.

July also marked our first, and definitly NOT the last, date with a Crooner.

Mr. Buble-I heart you, handsome.

August

Succeeded my dream- RD status comes to life!

Patrick made his move to Dallas- and we now have one less guest room.

Celebrated 5 years if marriage

September 

Mexico fun with the Collins'. Such a beautiful memory

We were honored to stand with some of our best friend's, Hailey and Justin, as they got married!

October

The Texas Rangers made the World Series Playoffs..and we got to attend (a winning) Game #2.

I also had a rather fantabulous job fall in my lap.  Still loving everyday.

 November

Happy Thanksgiving!

December

Christmas Card pictures are always such a fun part of getting ready for the holidays.

My favorite one landed the winning spot on the card :)

Patrick spent Christmas Eve/morning with us- loved having him with us this year!

A Celebration of the New 2011 Year

Ashley and Jarrett so graciously hosted us for a delicious and low key evening.

The Ladies

The Gents'

Happy New Year!!!

Ending with the way I started this year is just fine with me- with my sweet love..in his arms. Wishing you a wonderful start to this New Year.  I surely can't wait to see what 2011 holds for us!