Naples 2019

Fossil Rim & Dinosaur Park

Spring Break 2020

Cooking with Marietta in Italy

That time we rode the train to Pompeii like lost puppies and got picked up by the most beautiful Italian woman with a cigarette in her hand who drove us to her home and welcomed us with cappuccinos and croissants. She taught us how to make pasta from scratch and fill raviolis with ricotta and how to correctly make pesto and a lasagne with bechamel. The language barrier was no more, we communicated with smiles and laughs and devoured our delicious meal together with wine and finished off the afternoon with homemade limoncello. This was the most beautiful and authentic Italian experience and I will treasure it forever.

Pompeii

On our trip to Italy, Fred and I left our hotel in Positano and hopped on the bus and then the train to explore Pompeii. It was such an adventure figuring out how to buy a bus ticket or hop on a train, we asked so many strangers in our choppy touristy Italian if we were headed the right way. I read many warning about the stations and trains around Naples but prayer, paranoia and kind strangers eventually got us there!

For a girl that loves history more specifically art history the ancient ruins of Pompeii blew me away! I was amazed at the craftsmanship and intricate details through out, from the mosaic tiles, stone carvings to beautiful frescos preserved by the volcanic ash from the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. These people hundreds and hundreds of years ago knew a thing or two about design and architecture all without the fancy tools and technology we have today!

Seriously my mind is still blown, to have walked through streets that people roamed through thousand of years ago was mind boggling, an unforgettable experience I will cherish always!

So Close, Yet So Far Out

Disclaimer: This was written like over a year ago and never got posted til now! Enjoy!

Last Summer Fred and I celebrated our Anniversary in Austin TX. About a 4 hour drive from Dallas, felt close enough to drive but far enough to call it a getaway. Although only 4 hours apart from each other Dallas and Austin could not be any more different from one another.

See what we love about Austin is that it’s funky, its different, its weird, which is to no surprise why the city’s slogan is, “Keep Austin Weird.” after all. So when we decided to spend the weekend in Austin I knew I wanted to embrace all it had to offer a vibrant, eclectic, artsy, hip vibe so we booked our stay in a motel, not just any motel, Austin Motel!

What drew me to this place was it’s modern sleek colors combined with vintage architecture and a slight Spanish villa feel. The outdoor corridors are adorned with beautiful greenery and dreamy cacti. If you look into Bunkhouse, they have a whole line of hotels that are all so well designed, I’m dying to stay in a teepee at El Cosmico in Marfa or their hotel in Cabo is beautiful too!

While I highly recommend Austin Motel for its design, great location, lots of great food places around, be forewarned, the innuendos through out this place might leave you blushing at the least or might just completely crack you up, I chose the latter. So if you’re heading to Austin ditch that boring hotel with the waffle maker and the basic vibe and stay at Austin Motel, So Close Yet So Far Out.

 

10 Year Anniversary in Italy

International Travel Is In Our Future!

Our 10 Year anniversary is in a few weeks, passports are in, flights are booked and where else would these pizza making, pasta eating, cheese and carb lovers go? No other place than, ITALY!

Dream come true.

Italy has been the top of my bucket list for years and my amazing Fred is making it happen for us. He’s worked so hard, for this, taken on a lot of side jobs and we’re actually doing this! GAHHH! So you can only imagine what this obsessive meticulous itinerary creator has been up to for the last couple of weeks, I’ve spent countless nights staying up researching dreamy beaches in the Amalfi coast. I know poor me…

After much research we decided that 9 days would be ideal, 2 days of that would be travel and 7 of them would be our favorites things, for Fred: pizza, for me: beach! As much as we wanted to hit up every landmark in Italy we just knew that 7 days would not give us enough time to do that. So since we couldn’t have our cake and eat it too we decided to go for the best part, the icing on the cake! That being Naples, the birth place of pizza, and the most beautiful place on earth, the Amalfi Coast!

So in just a few weeks my mom and my little sister will be flying in from California to stay with the boys, we’ve been prepping them for months and they’re excited, they love California Grandma and Jiji, I know they’re going to have a blast being spoiled!

I’m so grateful Fred and I will get to have time away together, alone to celebrate and praise God for how faithful he’s been these last 10 years in our marriage.

Italia, we’re coming for you!

Bread Adventures

Hey, how was your weekend?

Saturday, Fred spent all day baking, made us waffles, he made sourdough bread, french rolls, he’s amazing, he even sold a few breads to some friends. I’m loving this new bread hobby he’s into because I freakin love bread!

So after eating bread all day Saturday what did we do Sunday after church? Went to a bake sale!

Yea, the bread obsession is real.

Patina Green our favorite sandwich spot in McKinney was having a pop up bake sale and we had to go. Pamela and Brock, the bakers selling their bread could not have been sweeter despite our wiggly and chatty children, also their array of breads was fab.

After picking out our baked goods we grabbed some sandwiches and sat down for lunch, sliced right into the freshly baked bread and my heart soaked it all in, family and good food are some of my favorite joys.

Totally recommend Patina Green if you have not been there and check out Pamela and Brock their bread was everything you would want bread to be!

Hope you have a great week! Eat something delicious.

Go, eat your bread in joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart… Ecc 9:7

Valentine's Date in Deep Ellum

On Saturday Fred treated me to an early Valentine’s Day Date. He knows me too well and planned it just right.

Dallas, Food, Duh.

While a girl can eat a big meal, trust me… I’m more of the tapas philosophy, small bites so I can try a little of everything and take my time. So Fred decided to take me out to eat small bites at a few different spots.

We started our date at Jimmy’s Food Store, the best Italian market in Dallas. Italian cuisine and culture is so near and dear to us and being in Jimmy’s Food Store makes me feel like I’m there though I've never been but I like to pretend while i’m there! You can buy a glass of wine to sip on while you shop. You’re completely surrounded by every imported Italian ingredient you might ever need along with local goods. I found the perfect pasta noodles for my Galentine’s Party coming up and we bought our meats we needed for pizza night from the deli, the deli!!! At the deli you can buy sandwiches, the most amazing sandwiches in town, Fred and I split a prosciutto caprese sandwich, soo tasty!

We then headed to Deep Ellum, one of my favorite spots in Dallas. We walked around the outdoor market, hit up a few shops like Jade & Clover and Archer Paper Goods, seriously adorable shops!

Then came our second food stop, Revolver Taco. We had authentic street tacos with wagyu beef carne asada, cilantro and onions! The best part? There’s an abuelita in the kitchen making your tortillas, (insert tears of joy here) and you can actually see her throwing it down in a cute Mexican apron. You won’t find your typical Texas “fajita meat” tacos here, just the real good carne asada.

We ended our date with dessert at Emporium Pies. It was my first time checking out the Deep Ellum location so I was really excited to check out their floral mural, insta worthy. They have their seasonal “Valenpies” I had to go with the Dr. Love pie, a gooey brownie with red velvet cream cheese, need I say more?

Though it was a chilly 30 some degree date, my super hot Valentine kept me warm, like literally, my thoughtful Fred even bought me hand warmers to put inside the pockets of my coat. Thank you Fred for always loving me, caring for me, spoiling me. I love you my dearest Valentine.

Morning at Magnolia

This summer Fred and I drove down to Austin to celebrate our 9 year anniversary. Since Waco is halfway to Austin we thought it'd be fun to drop by and pay Chip and Jo's place a visit. I've heard from the day trippers, I've seen the countless #milestomagnolia pics on insta so I wanted to see for myself what all the hype was about and let me tell you, the hype is real.

Upon walking in you feel something special in the air. Everyone is excited to be there. You're greeted by friendly smiles and you feel welcomed. Hospitable to the core. It felt like Disneyland a bit, kinda magical but no Mickey Mouse or Cinderella Castle here, just a beautiful space called the Silos!

I love places that are well designed, where details matter and where spaces are transformed yet are left to display the beauty and integrity of their history and age. That with their shop overflowing with things to fill every room in your home, truly eye candy for the decorist soul.

My favorite area was the Magnolia Seed+Supply, a gardeners dream! The little garden shop took me back to our trip to Carmel CA... Sweet, quaint, cute shops have a special place in my heart.

We ended our time at the Silos by picking up some pastries from the bakery for the road. A bacon scone, blueberry muffin and a chocolate croissant, all which did not disappoint, all that was left of them were the crumbs on my lap and on the floor of the car. I'm a messy eater, just ask Fred. To our surprise we found a sweet note from one of the workers wishing us a happy anniversary! 

We left with our baked yummies, some sunflower seeds for our garden but most importantly we left inspired and with a greater appreciation for Chip & Jo and what they've built. And of course, we left with a #milestomagnolia pic, how could we not?