Weekend and my very own Cabi Show

Chris and I had a great weekend! Friday night we finally got to go out to have his official birthday dinner (a little late) and we tried a new place we had read about. It was called Victor Tangos, and it was really fun! It was very much the place you would want to go if you were young and single so I don't know about Chris, but I couldn't help but feel a little old! However, that feeling didn't ruin our fun. 

The menu is really interesting, and we had read all about what you MUST order, so we did! We had Ahi Tuna Nachos, Chicken and Waffles, and Pot stickers that tasted like they were stuffed with Brisket. It was all really good!  Another thing they had, but we were too stuffed to try, was Stadium pretzels that you dipped in cheese Fondue. It looked SO good and I can't wait to go back and try it!

Then on Saturday it was my turn to host my own official Cabi Fashion Show. A while back I went to my first Cabi show -- it is a line of clothing that my friend Shea sells (go here to read about that show). So, I was so excited to have my own party! I decided to invite some of the teachers from my school to come shop with me! 

Here was a few of the appetizers I served!

 (Judy, I finally had an excuse to use the sugar cookie mix you gave to me for Christmas, and everyone loved them!) Thank you!

Here is my friend Shea displaying each collection. (Sorry that my photography is so lousy and that Shea looks a little surprised!) 

A better pic of Shea, but still blurry. Sorry! 

 

And a group pic towards the end of the night. We had a great time and we all got some super cute things for Spring and Summer. I can't wait to wear them all!  

Spring Is Here

I am so glad to finally get a chance to sit down and write about my favorite time of the year ... SPRING!

There are many reasons why it is my favorite, and here are some of them:

1. The weather gets warmer.

2. Flowers start to bloom.

3. A great time to do spring cleaning and organizing (my speciality).  :) 

4. Spring break!

5. Only 10 more weeks of school til' summer break! Whoo hoo!  

Speaking of Spring Break, this past week was ours! As teachers, it is a time we really look forward to because about this time of the year we all start to get spring fever, including the kids. So it was a much needed week of rest. Ever since Chris and I met and began teaching, we have never had the same spring break, so we just assumed this year was like all the rest and made plans accordingly.  Until someone actually looked at a calendar and we discovered we had the same one! But it was too late. I had planned a quick trip to Corpus in the beginning of the week to help my mom clean out my room of high school and college memorabilia, and Chris planned a trip near the end of the week  in Austin to go to the annual South by Southwest music festival and to have a mini-reunion with his buddies. So sadly, we spent it apart. :(   However, I was glad to say I did accomplish alot of springy things around our house, so just thought I would share some.

 

This is our back porch and since I love flowers so much I decided to plant some Impatiens and some Petunias. I just love all the colors they come in so I thought it would add a little something to our backyard. The sad thing is I have no clue what I am doing and the Petunias already seem to be wilting. I water them everyday, do you think that is too much? Any suggestions? 

 

This is the back of our house and porch. As you can see we don't have too many large plants growing, nor much grass, so that is our next big project. During the break we met with a landscaper and some other contractors who will be helping us in the next few weeks to get our yard looking fabulous!  We have all kinds of fun plans, so hopefully it will be done and ready for summer soon! They actually started on the project today, so we will keep you updated and post the before and after pictures when we can.

Here are more of my Impatiens I planted for the front porch. These are doing much better than the Petunias!

And here is another look of my flowers when you walk out onto our porch. I love how colorful it is now!

 

 

And last but not least ... my new Spring pillows I ordered from Ballard Designs. What do you think? My sister- and mother-in-law introduced me to Ballard's and I have loved it ever since! Thanks Kelly and Judy! 

So, what is your favorite part of spring? And any suggestions of how to keep my flowers alive? Any tips will be  greatly appreciated!

Happy Birthday Chris and Kathy!

Today is a very special day for two very special people in my life! It is my husband Chris, and my aunt-in-law, Kathy's, Birthday today! 

As many of you know, Chris and I got married this past July, and it has truly been the best 9 months of my life. I feel so blessed to have him as my husband because not only is he the most caring, funniest, loving, and smartest person I know, but he makes me a better person each and every day. He is my best friend and I often wonder where I would be and what kind of person I would be if he had never gotten up the courage to talk to me one day after class, even after knowing me for almost 2 years! ha!  I am so thankful for that!

Chris, I love you thirty-three times as much today!!!!!!!!   

I am also so blessed to have Chris's aunt Kathy in my life. She is the best aunt-in-law a girl could ask for!  She is such a loving, caring, and strong person, and I am so glad to have her as part of my family.  

I hope you have a wonderful day Kathy!    

I love you both so much and I hope you have a wonderful birthday today!

Love, Carrie

Dress For Less

My sister- in-law, Kelly over at Kelly's Korner, did a great post today about "recession fashion" -- dressing cute for less. She asked all her readers to share places they like to shop and where you can find fashionable items for less. So I thought I would share some of my fashion secrets! Ha! I am so not a fashionista, but I do think I am pretty good at finding some steals every now and then, so here are some of my favorites!

(I am probably repeating a lot of Kelly's hot spots, because she named most of the good ones!)

My #1 place is of course Forever 21! I have shopped there ever since college and I love it because I can always find something I like, and I can buy more than one item and not feel guilty! So cheap and so great!

My #2 spot is a store called Zara, that I think is in most major cities. I love this store because it is organized by colors! But they also put coordinating pieces together, including shoes, so you can "see" the whole outfit. I love that because sometimes I have to see everything together or on someone before I know I like it. So it helps so much! And the clothes are really reasonably priced, but look expensive to my eye. The only downside is that their sizes can be odd sometimes -- so a top that is super cute on the hanger might be really awful when it's on -- so it can be hit or miss.

My #3 spot is Anthropologie. I know what you are thinking ... so expensive! But their sales are great! I feel like if I am going to a nice event then this is a great place to dress up an outfit. The downside is I can tend to get really depressed when I see shirts for $120, and it can be hard to be patient to wait for things to go on sale. But check back weekly and it is usually in the sale room! 

Of course when it comes to jewelry I love Forever 21, or Sam Moon, even Target. But my best go to resource is ME! I love to make jewelry -- and if I have time, I just make a piece to go with my outfit. I still have a website for Carrie's Creations, but I have not updated it in a year or so. I have made several items since then, and my style has actually changed quite a bit, (my pieces are now much simpler) but it can be a chore to update it. Between getting married and teaching, I just have not had time. But check back this summer because I plan to get to work!

Exciting News!

Ok everyone!!!! I have some really exciting news to report!!!!!!!!

Drum roll please.....

Wait for it...........Wait for it...........

Coming this Fall somebody is going to be having identical twins!!!!

Oh, you thought it was me!? haha! Not quite yet!

(Did that give you a heart attack?) :)

It's my sister-in-law, EMILY! 

(she is the one in the middle)

She just told us and we are soooo excited for her and Brad!

Congrats you guys!

We love you!  

Wild Wedding Weekend!

What a great weekend we had! This was the weekend of my friend Grace and Zach's wedding (the one we threw a shower for a few weekends ago). And it just so happened that my sister, Claire, and her husband, William, had a wedding as well here in Dallas. So they came up to stay with us and we had a great time.  

We woke up on Saturday morning and Claire and I took a very short walk ... it was SO COLD and windy so we made it quick! Then we headed to Breadwinners for lunch with Chris, William, and some of Claire's close friends who were also in town.  (Some of the girls are pictured below) It was yummy and fun!

Before both weddings we had everyone over for drinks and appetizers. Claire and William's wedding was earlier than ours, so her friends came over first. From left to right are Bonnie, Megan, Emily (our  sister in-law, William's sister), Claire, and me.      

Us again, but this time with William and Emily's mom Mary (far right) and her good friend on the far left. Actually only Mary, her friend, Claire, and William were going to the wedding. The other girls were in town to help celebrate Bonnie's birthday. It was great having everyone over.

After that group raced off to their wedding, some of the teachers from my school came over so we could all ride together to Grace's wedding. Katie, on my left, and Sue, on my right, are two teachers who I teach 3rd grade with, and Heather on the far right teaches 5th grade. They all helped give the shower for Grace a few weekends ago and we had fun hanging out and watching some of the Texas/OSU basketball game before heading to the wedding. Sadly, I think OSU won. :( Boo! 

The wedding was beautiful! After the ceremony, we headed to the reception downtown at the Petroleum Club. When we first walked in they had a red carpet laid out and paparazzi-like people were taking pictures of all the guests as they walked in. We all loved it and hammed it up for the cameras! Hopefully the paparazzi got my best side for US magazine! Ha! 

 

The flowers Grace and Zach had were absolutely GORGEOUS! Here are Chris and I in front of one of the beautiful arrangements. 

Having fun! Katie, myself, and Heather!

We had the best time that night dancing and eating cake!  Heather and I had found some pretty orange roses that I think fell out of Grace's bouquet when she threw it, so we were being silly and posing with them pretending we were Melissa OR Molly from The Bachelor, getting our roses at the last rose ceremony! I can't wait to watch it tomorrow night, even though I think I already know who wins due to a lot of spoiler things I have read ... we will see! 

 

 

But of course at the end of the night I had to give the final rose to Chris, who looks overjoyed! Overall, we had a wonderful time and are so happy for Grace and Zach!