Baby Shower

Here is a post I had written shortly after my baby shower last year that I never hit publish on.  Better late than never, right?

Sis and Jill hosted a baby shower for me in Austin last month. I was able to catch up with old friends and visit with the family I still have in the area. It was certainly a nice way to spend probably the only paid vacation time I'll get this year on account of taking medical leave.

Jill came out to Phoenix first, since she had yet to see the house. She got an official tour the night she arived and the next day we took a road trip down to the Bioshpere and did a tour of the area, learning way more than we ever expected to about that ongoing experiment. The humidity in one of the "climates" did quite the number on my hair but otherwise it was a fun getaway and we spent lots of time catching up and comparing pregnancy experiences.

The day after we flew out to Austin along with Keck. My friend Sue and her daughters all came out from Phoenix as well so we spent that first day showing them around and getting settled into our hotel. The following day was the shower so while everyone was running errands and setting things up I was able to take some time for myself and get a pedicure and shop. That night I got to the shower location and was blown away by how nice everything was. It was really wonderful to be with loved ones that are so clearly happy and excited for us. Thanks to all that helped make the party happen.

Another Austin Weekend

Was out in Austin last weekend for Roy and Nichole's pre-wedding parties. I'll be the best man at the wedding in Vegas in about 6 weeks so I was able to fly in for the weekend and enjoy a bachelor party and a bridal shower. I also squeezed in a engagement photo session as a gift to them and a new cut and color as a gift to myself.

We got in Friday afternoon and that night we headed straight for Trudy's (after a much too brief shopping detour) to get our Tex-Mex fix right away. All queso really should be this good.

Saturday morning I went to a hip little salon on Congress and putting all my faith into the stylist's capable hands, I told her to do whatever she thought was best. She darkened up the highlights a bit and took off a lot of the length, layering it up along the way. She did some lowlights as well, all told it took two and half hours but it was worth every minute. I loved the way it came out and it was certainly nice to be pampered for so long (the wash itself was heaven).

That afternoon, we hit a few different spots to take pictures of Roy and Nichole. I just followed along and snapped the shutter. They had picked all the destinations and given me an idea of poses and image styles they wanted to have me use for them, making it ultra easy for me. It's nice to work with clients I already know and I'm comfortable with. I believe that ease comes across in the final images as well. They've been edited and sent to them for printing and I hope they enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Saturday night we went out for Roy's bachelor party. It was a great time with Roy's closest friends, including Nichole. I got to sport my new outfit from the shopping detour the afternoon before and my new haircut from earlier that morning. We didn't get home until late but it was a great time and I can't even remember the last time I've been out on a Saturday night so it was a most welcome long and fun night for me.

Sunday morning I slept in then made it over to Roy's mom's house for Nichole's bridal shower. There I discovered the beauty of cake balls. They were so delicious it was ridiculous. I've determined I'll be trying my hand at making these in the future. Since the holidays are upon us I have a ready made excuse to bake 'til I drop and these puppies will be at the top of my "to try" list.

We flew back the next morning, much against my will but I had to get back to work that afternoon so I didn't have much choice. However, I do have the wedding to look forward to now and I'm most excited to complete my duties as best man in Las Vegas!

Spring Break

Sis had knee surgery again last week and timed it so she would recover during spring break. Spring break is also when South By Southwest hits Austin and now that I don’t live there anymore, this is one of my favorite times to go there. The energy is high and there’s lots of people coming out and getting to experience first hand what a great place it really is. Mom and Dad were out to help with her recovery too, which was really rather minimal after the first few days. We spent time talking, shopping and relaxing. I even also managed to squeeze in 3 workouts at her top of the line gym (thanks to Mom's early wake up calls and excellent workout partnering skills) so I was pleased as punch. Of course coming back was not so nice. The return flight is always the hardest part. We take off and I'm looking out the window, watching as we leave this lush, green rolling hill country and two hours later, we land in the dusty, dry desert. Not exactly a terrific trade off but certainly we had a great time as usual and our appreciation for “home” grew just a bit more with each tasty bite of Tex-Mex.


...and that one naughty but nice, deliciously decadent cupcake.