Galveston Memories.....

So in the process of researching Galveston for a mini "baby moon vacation," I cannot help myself from reflecting on my childhood vacations there EVERY year.  We stayed in a trailer house on stilts (basically) that was owned by my Great Aunt Ann called "Thrush."  I just found an image of it on Google Maps.  We would pack so many people in that house, like 20+.  It was 2 bedroom, 1 bath, great patios and a short walk to the beach - multiple families and oh my gosh the memories!!!  To be back in a place where nothing mattered and you always had fun - childhood.  I hope to pass memories like these onto my children one day.  Feeling peaceful....



 

B is for Boat Baby....

I am really trying to get back in swing of things on this blog and all that consumes me these days is BABY, BABY, BABY!  I thought this would be a cute post, since I love being on boats, lakes, water etc. and so does Keeton.  So here it goes, B is for BOAT BABY!

I grew up on the lake!  It was such a big part of my child hood and I wouldn't change that for anything!  I started skiing when I was 6!  I really, really love the water!  Keeton does too and he grew up on water all the time as well.  We even got married on the lake - so there ya go!  So many people do not have experiences like ours and for that we are very thankful!  Soooo.... all of that being said, it is only appropriate that our children will grow up going to the lake and being on the water all the time too!  Our child will be in swim lessons as soon as it is allowed!  We have a pool in our back yard too - so that is crucial on many levels.  Keeton and I are so lucky that both sets of our parents have boats - so again, our baby will be on boats often!  =)  Which leads me to this BIG DAY FOR US!  Our baby took it's first boat ride on my Dad's / Grandaddy's Baja for the first time this past weekend!  He or she can now hear things too - so I know it could hear the engine roar!  The vibrations were probably soothing to him or her.  They are to me!  =))  Now, for all of you who know, my Dad's boat can go REALLY fast, of course we didn't do that this weekend, just a nice relaxing and safe ride.... GOOD FOR THE SOUL (and baby's soul)!  

Anyways, here are some fun pictures, I thought you might all enjoy.  I don't have a picture of Keeton when he was young on the water, but I know they are out there!  I really think I will try and incorporate some of these old pictures in our babies nursery too! 


My Mom and me on Lake Athens, probably around 1988-1989, 3-4 years old.  I think we still have this life jacket.

My baby bump at almost a complete 4 months (5.3.13) - in one of my fav. shirts - seemed fitting for this post. 

Baby Moore's FIRST BOAT RIDE - 5.4.13 - Lake Athens

B is for Baby!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it?!?!?!  Keeton and I are going to have a baby!!  And Maverick is going to be a big sister!  We are beyond excited and ready for this new chapter in our lives.  We have shared the news with our families, friends and co-workers and now its time for everyone to know - the facebook land!  We have kept our mouths shut (SO HARD) during the first trimester, to be on the extra safe side, but now I am officially in the 2nd trimester, have completed my 13th week and well into my 14th week.  I have been to the doctor 3 times now.  We have had 2 sonograms and heard the heart beat twice!  THESE ARE SUCH AMAZING THINGS!  I honestly cannot wait to be a Mom and I will do EVERYTHING in my power to be the best I can be!  I know my KeeNasty will be such a great Daddy-O too!  We have a great support system and again, just soooooo excited!!!

B is for my 27th BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

I love love love Birthday's and of course, I love my Birthday too!  I thought I would dedicate a blog to all the things I am thankful for!  I have lived a great, interesting 27 years and unlike alot of really great musicians I hope I live to celebrate many, many more bdays!  Everytime I hear 27, I think of those peeps - Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Kobain, Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse, etc.  They are all part of the 27 Club.  I am pretty sure I don't live a life like they did though! 
So onto my post, here is a list (and I am sure I will miss something) of all the things I am thankful for:

1. God
2. My KeeNasty and all the things he provides for me, emotionally, phycially, mentally
3. My Mom
4. My Dad
5. My Step-Mom
6. Leon
7. Penny
8. Tricia
9. Danny
10. Lee
11. My late Mamaw
12. My late Papaw
13. My late Grandaddy
14. My Gamma
15. Faye
16. Keeton's late MeeMaw
17. Keeton's Papa
18. Keeton's Grandma
19. Keeton's other Papa
20. Jennifer
21. Liz
22. Elyse
23. Tish
24. John C.
25. Kyle
26. Kendall
27. Caroline
28. Jacob
29. Cadyn
30. Bella
31. All my extended family and Keeton's too
32. My home
33. My pool
34. My dog, Maverick
35. My belongings inside my home and out
36. My job
37. My office
38. TCU as a whole
39. My co-workers
40. My bosses
41. My previous jobs and co-workers there
42. My BIA!
43. All my other friends - I could list about 1000 names here - but I know I would leave someone out
44. My friends' families
45. My facebook friends
46. People who read my blog posts
47. All the sweet notes on facebook today wishing me a Happy Birthday!
48. All the sweet texts, messages, phone calls I have recieved today wishing me a Happy Birthday!
49. Flowers on my desk today!
50. Flowers in general
51. My health
52. My Honda
53. Keeton's work - PlainsCapital, his co-workers and bosses
54. Lakes
55. Rivers
56. Pizza
57. Sushi
58. Chips and salsa
59. ALL FOOD really!
60. Laughter
61. Love
62. Make up
63. Jewelry
64. Shoes
65. My cloths and all the ones I want too!
66. Fingernail polish - I'm obssessed
67. Medicine that makes people better
68. BOATS
69. Red Bull
70. The Dallas Mavericks
71. The NBA
72. Happiness
73. Air conditioning - important in TX
74. Heaters - for when I get cold, ha!  Not often....
75. Money
76. Stocks
77. My mutual fund
78. Insurance
79. Retirement accounts
80. Purple pens!
81. Vacations
82. Beaches
83. Movies
84. TV
85. Cable
86. Computers
87. Internet
88. iPod
89. iPad
90. iPhone
91. Printers
92. My camelbak water bottle
93. Wisdom
94. Courage
95. Strength - emotional and physical
96. Headbands and headwraps
97. Music
98. Peace
99. Security
100. Sleep

Ok I am going to stop at 100 - I am sure I forgot some, but that is a good amount!!!  Have a great day everyone and be thankful for the things you have in your lives!

B is for Baby Bia's Baby Shower

This past Sunday 6 girls (including myself) threw my best friend her baby shower at my house.  AND IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!  I am going to brag a little, but share some fun things we did too! 

First - Luz does not like flowers!  AHHHHHH!!!  All showers have flowers!  So on went the thinking caps!  Luz is a school teacher and so I thought, well children's books would be a nice touch for the center pieces.  Lilia then added in the little girl's shoes.  =)  So children's books and little girls shoes it was!  I wanted to create some height in the centerpieces, so I covered some small boxes with grey fabric and that worked perfect.  Luz's colors are grey and purple - so was the shower!  Also, on the table we pre-set mason jars with purple straws for the drinks and grey napkins.  The napkins were accompanied with teething rings and pacifiers.  All of these items were gifted to Luz after - so really, prob. better than flowers that would just be thrown away afterwards.  Oh yeah, I added in baby bottles with the taco sauces and some candles.  Here are some pics of the tables. 

We set all tables generally next to each other.  People want to be close to others, not secluded.  I wish I could have set everyone in the shade, but my back yard did not allow it.  If possible, that is the way to go.  We lucked out with a nice breeze, so everything was perfect!  I ordered table cloths that only went 1/2 way to the ground - this creates a more casual setting, full length cloths are usually used for more formal events. 

For our food, Luz loves this taco place in Fort Worth called Taco Heads.  Its actually a food truck, but they do cater as well.  They were set up in the shade on our deck and it was great!!!  This was a huge hit!  Here is their website/fb and some pictures.  Taco Head's facebook page

I mentioned this above, but we put the taco sauces in baby bottles on the tables.  I had to cut off the nipples b/c the sauces were thicker, but this was so cute!

We added in some food items - chips, queso, fruit, purple drinks, water, purple popcorn and of course cake, which I will get into later.  It was perfect and everyone was beyond stuffed!  We held the shower at 1pm, so it was really important we fed everyone.

Here is a pic of the yummy tacos!  We had pork and chicken to choose from.  Plus cilantro, onion, pico de gallo and cheese!  SO SO GOOD!

Karen did a great job with all of the games!!!  We played 3 or 4 (can't even remember) and everyone won prizes.  My fav. was the one we had to put a diaper on a cabbage patch doll with a partner only using 1 hand each.  HAHA!  Good times!  I didn't win any of the games, but still fun.  Luz enjoyed them too!

The cake!  It turned out great and Lesha did a great job!!!!!!!  And Scott too.... hehe.  Luz loves taking showers now that she is preggers and plus this was a "baby shower!"  So check out the cake!!!!!  Blue Bonnet Bakery made the tub part and everything else Lesha added in.  SO SO CUTE!  And unique too!!!!  Lilia found the idea and Lesha ran with it - AWESOME JOB!  The base was purple, but kinda looks black in this photo.  We did the cake indoors, so no worries about it melting, etc.  It was nice to get inside in the cool for a short period of time too.  I used my late Mamaw's cake serving plates and forks, so that was special for me.  Real plates and silverware always makes everything so much nicer than plastic - but I def. have used both - don't get me wrong!  It totally depends on your event and how many people you are serving, I do get that!

Party favors - this was Izzy's part.  She did take away sugar cookies that were awesome!!!  So cute and very yum!  We set these by the door for everyone to grab on their way out. 

There were so many other special touches - diaper wreath on the door, thumb print on a matted picture of Luz, diaper cakes, etc.  But we really kept Luz in mind the whole time and she loved everything!  We were all very happy with all of it and SO WAS SHE!!!!!!!

This was the first shower I have held in my house - I felt it was a success!!!  Thank you again to the hostesses!  Love yall!  -Izzy, Karen, Mom, Lesha, Lilia-  I def. can't take all the credit here!  And to my hubs, KeeNasty for helping clean up the yard and pool - he made it look so nice!  =)

I hope you enjoyed this post - we had so much fun doing this for my bia bia!!!!  =))

Our Summer Vacation - NEED YOUR INPUT!

Hey everyone!  Keeton and I have recently booked our summer vacation and we are going to somewhere TOTALLY NEW for us!  We want to make sure we get the best out of these places and I want your feedback if you have ever been, lived there, etc.

To start with some background on why we booked this vacation.  Keeton and I have always wanted to explore Europe (lots of places)s and do it before kids are in the picture.  Well, I will be honest (as usual), I am so unfamiliar with Europe, that the idea of taking a cruise to a couple different places totally puts me at ease!  If I don't like a place, feel uneasy, etc. - I can just go back to the boat and we will be all good again.  I hope and don't foresee this happening, but just in case.  Keeton and I have been on 2 cruises before a couple of years ago, but they were both in the Caribbean, so... we are familiar with cruises.  After we determined a cruise would be a good option for us we then had to pick where. 

My number #1 and #2 places I have always wanted to visit are:
1 - Greek Isles
2 - Venice, Italy



Santorini, Greece


I started with that and I found the perfect cruise!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And I think it was a God thing b/c Keeton and I had already set our vacation week with work and the ONE cruise we wanted was THAT SAME week!

So here is the itinerary:


 Day 1 - Fly to Venice and we stay overnight
Day 2 - Leave on our cruise from the port in Venice
Day 3 - Port of Call - Bari, Italy
Day 4 - Port of Call - Corfu, Greece
Day 5 - Port of Call - Santorini, Greece
Day 6 - Port of Call - Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey
Day 7 - Port of Call - Katakolon, Greece
Day 8 - At Sea
Day 9 - Arrive back in Venice and stay overnight
Day 10 - Fly Home

Ok, now I need your help!!!!  Please give me any input you may have on any of these places! 

• Where to stay in Venice?  Area?  Hotel?  Any other Venice tips?  Where to eat?  What are some "must do" things in Venice?
• Where or what to eat ANY of these places?
• What to do in ANY of these places?  Things to see, etc.?
• What I should shop for - must haves or rare items from any of these places I need since I may never go back?  I know a carpet/rug in Turkey!  And remember, I am not a millionaire...lol.   

I plan on REALLY researching all of these places and things, but this is part of my research, the help of my friends!!!  So bring on the comments!!!  Thanks everyone!

B is for Baby Blue Salad w/ Fresh Pears

MY NEW FAVORITE SALAD!!!!  This salad is so good, I decided to blog about it!  Def. my new fav. food item!  I have never been a fan of blue cheese, but in this salad it works great!  I got this recipe from our catering dept. here at TCU, but I am not sure where it came from.  Looks like a magazine of some sort.  Anyways, I made it recently and Keeton and I both loved it!  Here is the recipe - a def. must try!

Baby Blue Salad w/ Fresh Pears
2 (5 oz.) packages of gourmet mixed salad greens, thoroughly washed
2 large Bartlett pears, cut into thin slices
1 quart of strawberries, quartered
4 oz. of blue cheese, crumbled
Sweet and spicy pecans (recipe below)
Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Sweet and Spicy Pecans
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup of warm water
1 cup of pecan halves
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1/8 teaspoon of ground red pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Stir together the 1/4 cup of sugar and warm water until sugar has dissolved.  Add pecans and soak 10 minutes.  Drain, discard water. 
2. Combine 2 tablespoons of sugar, chili powder and red pepper.  Add pecans and toss to coat.  Place pecans on lightly greased baking sheet.
3.  Bake pecans at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring once at 5 minutes. 

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons of honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 small shallots, minced
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 cup of olive oil

1. Whisk together first 7 ingredients until blended.  Gradually add olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until blended.

After all items are prepared, mix together and enjoy!  This salad could also be presented in a very pretty way, if you arranged the fruit, etc.  You should all seriously try this - SO SO GOOD!