Favorites Friday

I have decided to start a weekly post that I am so uncreatively calling "Favorites Friday". I will post a thing, or two, or ten of my favorite things that happened the previous week.

My favorite things about this past week are:

When I saw my phone ringing and that it’s my sister calling, but when I answered I heared this sweet little voice saying “Hi Jenny” and it’s my niece Kendall. She is starting to actually understand what I am asking her and when I asked her what she was doing, she responded with “cuddling with mommy”. Oh she just melts my heart.

The “cold front” that came through Texas this week. We finally didn’t break 100 degrees. It’s crazy how 85 degrees at 9 a.m. can feel so refreshing.

Getting a phone call at work from someone who read an article I put together about a local baseball coach fighting his battle with cancer, telling me how much it means to the community that we take the time to shine light on local people that have made a difference in the lives of so many. It’s calls like these that make my dead-end job a little enjoyable.

That's it for this week ... what's your favorite thing from this week?

The sweltering heat

Today was the first day in 10 days that we haven't had atleast 100 degree heat here in Dallas. This was the 17th day of 100+ degree heat this year, which passes the number for last year, but not nearly close to the record of 60-something days with 100+ heat. Please tell me we won't get even close to that.

We actually got a little rain last night which helped to cool things down pretty quick. It's pretty crazy, when the rain comes, the temperature can drop 25 degrees in a matter of minutes.

I think Brian is especially happy that its cooling down a little because I keep the thermostat on about 84 degrees in the house, which surprisingly feels quite refreshing after being outside. It makes the nights a little uncomfortable, so it will be nice to have the coldfront for a few days (the news today reported a dip into the mid-90s! Woo!)

I think the dogs are hating the heat more than us, but luckily they have a nice kiddie pool to lounge in during the day, and Mack definitely takes advantage of it. I will have to get some pictures of it soon.

Some days while I am working, I will listen to KMPS radio in Seattle, and I love when the DJ says "today will be a hot day, reaching temps of 85 degrees." I would love to have a little milder weather to where we could actually enjoy the weather instead of hide from it.

We have been trying to stay indoors, stay hydrated and keep cool. Let's hope this summer passes without too many more extreme days and we get into the amazing fall weather that Texas has to offer.

And for a little clarification...

The solo serenade I mentioned ... all of you can get your minds out of the gutter (Gwen) ... because it was a very innocent, yet wonderfully sung, Happy Birthday song.

Happy Birthday, Brian!

It might be the 233rd birthday of the United States of America, but more importantly, it is Brian's 26th birthday. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband, who although he wanted to do what he wanted and stay home for his birthday, he let me plan a day of surprises for him, and went along with it, with a smile even!
I made him his favorite breakfast, eggs benedict, and then we relaxed a little, before we got ready and headed over to Fort Worth to the Rahr Brewery to sample some beer and take a look around the brewery. We met some nice people and listened to some live music for a while before we headed to our favorite mexican restaurant, Joe T. Garcias, for a late lunch.
Our day finished with a little relaxation ... a nap ... and some cake ... at home (and yes I did do a solo Happy Birthday serenade).

Oh ya ... and Happy 4th of July!

A little retail therapy

To help us cure our post-wedding day blues, we headed out to the mall last weekend for a little retail therapy. We had gift cards burning holes in our pockets so we thought we might as well go look and see what we could find. Much to our surprise, we found a lot that we both actually agreed on! (Brian and I have very different decorating styles). We have found a store that is great for our marriage because its a perfect blend of traditional (Brian) and a little more modern (me). The store is West Elm. It's a California store that is making its way around the country and there is even one in Portland, Or. Well... it might be good for our marriage but bad for our bank account. We bought this great duvet there...

and then we made our way over to Macy's where lots of damage was to be done. We bought new Martha Stewart sheets (my pick... the 4th one down, the bright ones)

and new cutlery (Brian's pick).

We were so excited to get a few new things but didn't even get close to using all of our gift cards. We also bought a wine decanter and some lamp shades to go with our great lamps that Steve and Tonia Larsen bought us.

But what should we get next? Any ideas?