Random Wednesday Thoughts

Happy Wednesday! The weekend is so, so close! 

First, I want to say happy third anniversary to Brittany and Brandon! Woo! 

Her last few moments as an Ogletree -- we look so young (my hair?!?) and you were beautiful!!

Isn't this weather AMAZE?  I'm a little bummed it's going to get warmer (and probably rain...) in Austin this weekend and I still haven't been able to bust out my boots yet -- but there will be plenty of time for that soon enough. I'm loving the walks to my office building in the mornings, outdoor lunches and it made last night's happy hour fundraiser on the lake just perfect!  The Spazmatics even showed up!

Who doesn't love a great 80s band??  They always put on a great show.

Sooo, my fantasy football team is struggling a bit. As in, I'm in last place in my division... 1-4. My week 6 competition is against Scott, so Sunday should be fun! At the moment, I'm predicted to win! Keep your fingers crossed for me because he's undefeated -- even though it's all in good fun, it would be lovely to win. :) 

Proof that I'm predicted to win before he realizes he has a bye player he needs to swap out.  And, of course, I'm the Dillon Panthers.  One of the best. shows. ever.  Pretty much sums up Texas High School football.

Thinking of going to Dallas this weekend for the TX/OU game and the STATE FAIR OF TEXAS! I've only been once, and I cannot wait to go again! Fried food, football, fall weather and the ferris wheel? Yes, please!  Scott is even nice enough to ride the ferris wheel with me again.  He's terrified of heights (I am, too, but for some reason this the only ride I enjoy!) and was a trooper in 2011 - even if the others in our cart may have purposely freaked him out even more...

TX/OU weekend 2011 -- it was definitely a great first experience!  It's so strange to attend Texas games.  It's completely different from what I experienced at Baylor -- which is probably why I enjoy it so much -- but my heart will always belong to the Bears!

Perhaps the most exciting news of all - I snagged two tickets to the last football game in Floyd Casey Stadium on Dec. 7! Baylor vs. Texas here I come! Even though the tickets are on the visitor side, I think that will make Scott feel a bit better, and I'll still get to watch Baylor dominate -- and hopefully be Big 12 champs! (How exciting would that be?!) Anyone else attending?  It's going to be a little bittersweet going to that stadium for the last time, but next year the new stadium is going to be AMAZE!  Sail-gating anyone?

Bloglovin

I'm trying to catch up with the times -- now that Google Reader is RIP, I've been using Bloglovin to read all my favorite blogs. Follow me here!

Weekend Update

Wow!  This weekend really flew by.

Although it was a pretty low key weekend, it was still a great one.

Friday:

Had dinner at a small Italian restaurant, Milano Cafe, (it's BYOB and we definitely took advantage of that) -- it was great food with a lovely cozy, off-the-beaten path atmosphere.  Needless to say, with the wine, it was an early night for us. :)

Saturday:

I didn't even leave the house all day.  With ACL going on near my apartment (I could hear some of the music at times!), I didn't want to deal with all the crowds and extra traffic on a Saturday.  It gave me a chance to catch up on my DVR, clean out my closet (you're welcome, sister!) and take care of some things around the apartment I seem to neglect during the week.  I also started Scandal -- I know I'm a little late to the party here but it really is SO GOOD.  The first two seasons are on Netflix -- I'm a couple episodes into the second season and I cannot wait to see what happens!  I also watched my Baylor Bears DOMINATE West Virginia!  It was the first time I had actually watched them play and I'm so, so impressed and proud of them!

Sunday:

I was up early (thanks to the storm that blew in during the early morning -- thunder that rattles everything on my walls?  That so rarely happens these days!) and took my time getting ready for church.  Church was fabulous as usual but I was LOVING the cool, crisp morning!  I can't wait for that kind of weather to stick around permanently!  The rest of the day was spent running errands and taking in the nice weather.  I did venture out to the grocery store that evening and saw this lovely wine display.  As the only picture on this post, I feel it's very appropriate as it's so creepy/hilarious, it deserves to be front and center:

Whatever helps you sell wine.  I didn't buy that wine though-- I jumped, took a quick photo and promptly walked to check out...

Sunday night routine was as usual -- made dinner with Scott and we watched Sideways (has anyone else seen it?? It was strange yet had some hilarious parts.  Overall, I enjoyed it!) while drinking a special bottle of 2001 Matanzas Creek Proprietors Blend.

Hard to believe it's already Monday!  Have a great week!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I've never done one of these before but I've recently stumbled across a few things that I'm just dying to share!

Sitch Fix

So I found out about this via Peanut Butter Fingers.  Sitch Fix is a personal styling service - I was so intrigued and immediately created an account and filled out the style profile.  Then of course I couldn't wait to sign up for a box.  A week later...it was at my front door.

Here's what I decided to keep and I'm so excited they're both great summer to fall transition pieces for Texas!

While I only kept 2 of the 5 articles of clothing sent to me (I already had something very similar to the v-neck cardigan and leopard print scarf - only the jacket wasn't really my style) they pretty much nailed my style and size just based on the profile I filled out.  And I love you can send your style Pinterest board their way to help guide them as well as select price points so you're receiving clothes in your budget.  While I wish I could just auto schedule the delivery, it's just not in the every month budget, but I definitely plan on getting another box when the weather finally changes!

The Skimm

I feel like all I do during the day is make sure I'm caught up on all the headlines and happenings around the world.  A friend recommended this to me and I seriously cannot wait to get to work to read it every morning. The Skimm takes 4-5 top stories of the day and breaks it down for you - so you can be part of the conversation.  It's so informative yet hilarious when they throw in any social/entertainment type commentary. I mean, their quote of the day is this:

Quote of the Day: “I’m just going over there to have a good time and try to bridge the gap with Americans and North Koreans.”–Secretary of State stand-in Dennis Rodman is vacationing in North Korea again. Just visiting his good friend Kim.

Sign up here!

FOOTBALL!!!

Y'all, I was up at 8am ready. to. go.  I was so excited.  I even intensely watched College Game Day - I was seriously like a little kid at Christmas.  Living in Austin, it's a little more difficult to get to Waco for the Baylor games - especially with the boyfriend who is a UT alum.  So while I did do a little tailgaiting and wear some orange...I was GLUED to my phone the entire game looking at updates - as well as rub in the fact we were killing Wofford while it took nearly the entire first half for UT to score one touchdown against New Mexico. :)

I also had my fantasy football draft last night.  I have zero clue how to play - in fact, about half my team was auto picked for me...I also didn't realize I picked a free agent.  Since I knew him in high school, I had to have him on my team.  (Will someone pick him up, please?!!?)  I threatened everyone in my group if they picked RG3 before me (Sic 'Em!) and chose Jay Cutler as my back-up QB (because he's married to Kristin Cavalleri - duh.)  And of course, my team name is Dillon Panthers.  I think this will be a winning team (I'm actually not sure who more than have of these people are???):

Texas Craft Spirits Month

Governor Perry has declared September Texas Craft Distilleries Month!  A pretty awesome lobbyist - and now executive director for the Texas Distilled Spirits Association (Scott - I'm so, so, so proud of all the work you've done so far for Texas distilleries and their association!  Just had to brag for a sec :) - helped the Texas distilleries pass some bills to allow them to give samples to those on the tour of the distillery as well as sell up to 2 bottles of their product per customer at the distillery.  There were a couple more bills - but those are my favorite and ones that affect you if you ever go to tour a distillery!  As they say, "Come and drink it!"  Make sure to buy your favorite Texas liquors this month - everything from Titos, Rebecca Creek, Deep Eddy (which if you haven't had their ruby red grapefruit vodka with a splash of club soda and a lime this summer - you're seriously missing out) and more.  One of my personal favorites:  Treaty Oak Distilling which makes Starlight Vodka, Waterloo Gin, Treaty Oak Rum, and Graham's Sweet Tea Vodka.  All of those taste fabulous and the Starlight Vodka label is absolute perfection. 

(photo credit to the Treaty Oak Distilling Company Facebook page)

Thank you, Scott, for the newest apartment addition to go along with my bar cart! (Don't worry, Brittany- the "S" has just moved locations in the living room - it's still a favorite of mine!)

Here I Am, Again...

Clearly, I'm not very good at keeping up with this...

I figured it was time to post something after viewing Brittany's blog and my blog was way down at the bottom on her blog's she reads list -  not cool, Laura, not cool.

It's been a busy summer - family vacation to New Orleans, started a new job, my 10-year Waldemar Hilltopper reunion, lots of weekend afternoons at the pool and wondering where the summer actually went since it flew by way. too. fast.

As it comes to a close with Labor Day right around the corner and the most exciting time of the year - FOOTBALL - beginning tomorrow, I'll do a more detailed recap of the summer later this week.  Pictures are always a plus and I don't have any with me at the moment.

I know I said I'd be better at the whole blog thing, but I am promising to update when I actually have newsworthy things going on.  

xoxox

RED + TBT

For Christmas I surprised my sister with tickets to see Taylor Swift in Austin.  I lucked out and got a hold of the pre-sale code....those tickets seem to be IMPOSSIBLE to get.

After 6 months of waiting, Tuesday night was finally the night!  And we had a blast!

Whether you like Taylor Swift or not, she knows how to perform and put on an amazing show.  It was probably one of the best shows I've ever seen.  In fact, I can't think of anything that tops it....

Although we were pretty much at the very top, she did an outstanding job with working the entire crowd.  Everything from flying through the air, crowd surfing, and for her acoustic set, putting a stage in the back where the audience was sitting.  She had a ton of dancers dressed up in different costumes.  Very whimsical and it's almost like watching a broadway number.

And because we were near the top, I wasn't able to get any good photos.  I think that may have had something to do with all the lights -- each time I took one, it was just a blob of white!  There's also a good chance I just don't know how to work my phone...

Below are some videos of a couple songs. {who knew there was a size limit to videos?  sorry if they're a bit grainy.  had to compress them a bit...any advice on how to correct this in the future would be greatly appreciated!}  You'll be able to see how crazy the lights were but luckily I was able to get in one of the larger tv screens to see her on.

If you're ever able to see her live -- DO IT.  She really is an amazing performer and you won't be disappointed.

{before the show started...this is the only photo that actually turned out!}

{Red}

{Mean}

{Love Story}

{We are Never Ever Getting Back Together}

And now a Throwback Thursday photo, since it is Thursday after all.  This is for you Lindsay!  Since I didn't even know you read my blog, I thought I'd put this up and remember the first time we ran a half marathon together almost 3 years ago!  Third times a charm for reals.  After being sick and then a monsoon hitting Waco...our third attempt was a success.  We need to get another one on the books soon -- Napa/Sonoma???

Weekend Recap

I'm not doing so well with the whole keeping up with the blog thing or taking a lot of photos to share...

So here's a little weekend recap for you.  Nothing super eventful happened.  With the legislative session starting to wrap up, my weekends are pretty uneventful, but relaxing--and it's perfect:

Friday:  I took the day off to attend UT graduation -- Scott's sister graduated!  UT graduation was pretty similar to Baylor...just too much burnt orange and not enough green.

Morgan with her brothers!  They look a bit like bodyguards.  You may not be able to tell, but they have headphones in which made them look a bit like security.  The House of Representatives decided to have a bit of a meltdown and both of them had bills on the calendar.  Luckily for both of them, it turned out just fine!

Saturday:  I spent the day relaxing which ended up out at my apartment pool with Marcy and Scott.  I decided to try a new sangria recipe -- and was a success!  I followed this recipe, but I added an extra cup of grapefruit juice.  We liked it a bit more tart than sweet.  I bragged after successfully opening the bottle of prosecco without exploding it.  And then about 30 seconds later, I exploded the bottle of club soda.  Typical.

That evening, Scott and I attended the big all-university UT graduation with his family.  UT has individual ceremonies for each school on Friday and Saturday where they call the names, all formal ceremony-like.  Saturday evening is when everyone comes together out in front of the Tower.  It was a really neat experience!  I wish Baylor did something like it.  Sanya Richards-Ross was the keynote speaker (I was excited about this -- I was just a little obsessed with the summer Olympics.) and as each dean of the different colleges got up to speak, the colors changed on the Tower.  Of course, I had to snap a pic when it was green!  And to close the show, they had amazing fireworks!  That was definitely my favorite part!

pretty sure this won't ever happen again until graduation next year.  Sic 'Em.

Sunday:  After church, Scott and I ran some errands and ended up having lunch at Mrs. P's Electric Cock.  Fantastic fried chicken right out of a trailer.  Next time you're in Austin, you need to go!  It's right on South Congress among other fun restaurants and shops!

I stayed inside the rest of the day....agricultural fires coming up from South America and Mexico created a disgusting haze all over the city.  But, of course, that didn't stop the weekly tradition of Mad Men watching to round out the weekend!  I'm not so sure how I'm feeling about this season.  Don is becoming a bit unlikeable...I'm missing what the show brought during the first couple of seasons!


This morning as I checked my Twitter feed for the morning news, I see my friend, Brittany, is a guest post on this blog today!  She talked about the best. summer. ever. we spent in London back in 2007!  It was such a nice surprise getting to reminisce -- go check it out!

Campaign for Real Beauty

Dove's latest Campaign for Real Beauty video is pretty powerful.   I've been a huge fan of this campaign since it began several years ago, but I think Dove just outdid itself.


Just take a look...

back...again...

Well, it's only been 6 months since my last post.  The end of the campaign season kept me busy for a while, but unfortunately that's really my only excuse.  I guess you could say I had about 5 months of writer's block, but here I go again...

Since my last post on October 23rd, I:

Celebrated my birthday -- and because it was the day before Election Day, I had a fun fondue party the weekend before:

{the setup}

{the pretty hostesses - rachel and maggie}

Celebrated the end of campaign season -- which was spent in Fort Worth.  Scott and I spent the day placing signs at various voting locations throughout the district.  Unfortunately, the outcome was not as we had hoped, but it was a fun evening supporting good friends.

{Scott's brother, Clayton, who was the campaign manager, Dr. Shelton, and Scott}

Traveled to San Francisco, Napa and Sonoma with Scott!  best. vacation. ever.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years:

{oh hey, sister!}

{bundled up at the family farm with scott's family -- clayton's girlfriend, morgan, and scott's sister, morgan.  trust me, not confusing at all....}

{new years eve in port aransas}

a couple fancy events and a wedding/reunion:

{celebrating scott's first bachelors of austin event -- any excuse to dress up in a formal dress is fine by me!}

{waldemar reunion for blake's wedding -- grace, chloe, laura and sarah}

Ran the Austin Half Marathon:

{running with maggie during the race.  this was about halfway.  not hurting yet...}

{at the end in front of the capitol}

Rodeo Austin and SXSW -- those were a fun few weeks in the city:

{with marcy at the team sine die rodeo cook-off}

{thank you, Scott, for Rodeo Austin tickets the night Easton Corbin played!  Still swooning...}

{enjoying the sunshine during sxsw}

Our company won some AAPC Pollie Awards for work during the campaign season:

And that pretty much sums it up for now.  Be back sooner rather than later....promise!