Happy Weekend Everyone!

T-shirts that benefit flood relief---I must invest in one!! And a vintage postcard. This weekend, more unpacking and cleaning out is ahead for us. And a pool party with some other MBAs. Maybe a little exploration of Broadway Street downtown by the river. Also watching a few more episodes of Mad Men Season 1 before we get super busy with work and school.

What does your weekend hold?

Last few Dallas days + Current status update

Hello blog friends! I am sitting here at Fido, a hipster coffee shop in Nashville. Seriously, majorly hippie and I am loving the vibe. We don't have internet set up yet at our apartment so Doug and I parked here for the afternoon, catching up on things. Email sure piles up in 2-3 days!

Okay, I am going to breeze through the rest of the Last Few Dallas Days then I can move on to new topics! So here you go, presented in the same brief whirlwind fashion in which it was first experienced:

Wednesday

Lunch with my old roomie, Amy B! Love her. Love her heart.

Laughed my way through a coffee date with Ashley K--

And a dinner date with Tristen -- back in 2005 we laughed our way through a summer as roommates in Spain!

Thursday
I had lunch with a bunch of work friends! Our favorite Chinese restaurant with our favorite waiter with my favorite lunch buddies.





Thursday night Doug and I went with our friends Shanks and Rachael to a Ranger's game against the Angels. They killed - the Rangers are in first right now. Seriously, what the heck? The Rangers are never good. So that was pretty cool! Anyway, we took pictures and I think a few made their way to facebook, but I feel to lazy right now to transfer them here. That's right! I said it! I'm lazy!!! We had fun though, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Friday
Another fun lunch at Breadwinners, a personal favorite, and saying goodbyes! All week we had several friends stop by and bring us wine, home-made jelly, Twilight t-shirts, you name it!

Moral of this entire story: saying goodbye was tough because of the relationships we've built over the years. It was such a blessing to get together with so many friends all week and such a cool thing to have them cheer us on in this next step!! So thank you everyone for your love, encouragement, friendship and sweet words to us! We've made it to Nashville (with only a few minor snags) so stay tuned!!

Last Few Dallas Days...Part 3

*I am writing this while the movers are at our place. I'm so thankful it's not me carrying our stuff down our 3-story condo! When we moved in we enlisted family and friends, and I basically cussed the entire way. Doug and I promised we'd pay people the next go-round. And now that day has arrived, 18 months later. They had to remove our banisters as they carry the big furniture down the stairs. It's a looong way down and I'm currently a basket case!*

Now back to the topic at hand:

Tuesday
After a fabulous Monday off, I went back to the office for my last 4 days of work. As I rounded the corner from the elevator this is the first thing I saw:

this sign --

and as I continued down the hall--


getting closer to my department's area--


So fun!


An homage to Texas Tech and Vandy--


Can't forget about food--


And my desk! People came by all week to visit and get a "goodbye kiss."

Last Few Dallas Days ... Part 2

Since Rachel, Lauren and Sarah came in for the weekend they stuck around till Monday! I took the day off from work and we had a play day. We had breakfast at Buzzbrews. Little Kate (Rachel's 9 month old) joined us too. It's amazing how much personality Kate already has and it's so cute how she can do little funny tricks! When we hosted a baby shower for Rachel last year, Sarah so eloquently vocalized what we were all thinking, "Oh lord, we're reproducing now! Heaven help us!" I know Rachel's a great mom and I'm so proud of her. Here we are at the hospital when Kate was born. Yes, we're in matching pink shirts!

Nine months ago...


To now-

Buzzbrews-

After breakfast we said our goodbyes to Rachel and Kate who were heading back to Houston that morning. Then Lauren, Sarah and I picked up another friend Ashley and headed to Forever 21 to look for the perfect romper. You know rompers ... shorts and shirt in one ... we had grand ideas of heading to Six Flags in matching rompers (given the matching pink shirts, are you that surprised?) Turns out their stock was pretty low, so only Sarah came out successful in the romper department. Then we headed to Six Flags ... rode a few roller coasters ... got a little sweaty...laughed a lot ... saw a kid throw up on Judge Roy Scream ... called it a day!

We grabbed dinner at Eatzi's then headed back to the condo. Then Lauren and Sarah headed back to Austin. It was such a great weekend - I love them for coming up to Dallas to hang out one last time!

ALL DAY we were quoting this video from youtube:

Last Few Dallas Days ... Part 1

This has been a fabulous week of seeing so many friends before we move. It's been one giant marathon social session, and I love it! Since this blog is called "texas2nashville," I guess all this is pretty crucial in the moving timeline. So the next few blogs are going to be heavy on the pictures! Here's day 1:

Sunday
My college buddies all got together and hosted a send-off dinner for Doug and I at one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas, Margarita Ranch. The. fajitas. are. to. die. for. It was so sweet because some came from Austin and Houston to be with us!! So fun!

This is a pretty typical picture!

Jenn and Jayci - Dallas friends

Amy L- I've known this girl a loong time! Such a sweetheart!

Amy, Rachel and Jess

They put together a goodie basket for us full of "Texas stuff" including this mini cowboy hat. Also yellow roses, all kinds of Texas salsa and jam, a Texas country cd, and a stuffed Davy Crockett doll from the Texas History Museum in Austin. Hilarious!

Sarah and Lauren - these girls have made life a lot more fun!

Clay, Doug and Dan -

Doug and I with Dan and D'Ann -

And Clay and Jess-

After an amazing dinner and margaritas we headed to Trinity Pub. Who knew on Sunday nights they do Trivia and people are really into their Trivia - we got "shushed" more than once!

Who shushes someone at a bar?

Mary - love her!!

It was such a fun night and the beginning to a VERY fun week. More to come!

Thanks George Strait...

...for making me cry on my way to work this morning! And thanks Lauren for making me a fabulous CD!!! I had a fun-filled weekend with friends and I can't wait to share. Until I upload pics, here's the lyrics to the song:

There wouldn't be no Alamo
No Cowboys in the Superbowl
No "Lonesome Dove"
no "Yellow Rose"
If it wasn't for Texas.

I wouldn't be a Willie fan
Nobody'd swim the Rio Grande
I wouldn't be an American
If it wasn't for Texas

Fort Worth would never cross my mind
And there'd be no Austin City limits sign
No Lonestar of any kind
If it wasn't for Texas

I'd never've gone to Tennessee
To sing my songs an' chase my dreams
Only Heaven knows just where I'd be
If it wasn't for Texas

It made me the man I am
Thank God for my old stompin' ground
I wouldn't be standin' right here, right now
If it wasn't for Texas

Shenannigans

There's been a lot of happenings lately and I feel like I need to post some pictures! Doug and I went out for a celebratory dinner the night I got my job offer from Vandy. We already had plans later that night to meet some friends at The Wine Therapist so we kept our plans with them and I got to surprise them with my good news. Impromptu celebration!

I love celebrations!

My dear friend Mary - just love this girl.

Yay for gainful employment!

Here are some more good friends of ours - The Rosseau's. He will also be starting graduate school this fall and she'll be working - just like us.

Love this lady!

Last night, my work hosted a "good-bye dinner" at The Petroleum Club downtown. First of all - the food was great, but more importantly I have really enjoyed working with such a sweet group of people. I am going to miss them all! Only they could tell you just how much I've grown up in the past 3 years. I can't believe I was a "green" 23-year-old when my boss gave me the job - hardly mature and I had a lot of life yet to be lived! (Now I'm old and wise at the ripe old age of 26 - kidding!) Anyway, I'm struggling with what to write here and I know they read this, but Lord knows my last day next week is going to be a sad one. :{

The girls -Debbie and Rita, such special friends!

Doesn't my husband look good? I am going to point out that I'm obsessed with the skirt I'm wearing in the picture - it's ice blue duiponi silk and I love it!

Just a hop, skip and a jump away!

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Recipe for Success

Is this not true {frustratingly so at times} or what?!!?!

An Open Letter to the Lone Star State

Dear Texas,

You've been a good friend to me, always been there for me my whole life. After all, your Indian name Tejas means "friend."

Now, you are fickle and antagonistic at times: I can recall numerous times it's snowed on Easter and I've worn shorts in December. Why so difficult? It's okay though...

Your people are proud - perhaps to a fault?! Texas was once it's own country, brews its own beer , and has everything from superhighways to farm-to-market roads. We have our own type of music and dancing, food, culture and customs. No doubt I will miss my favorite Tex-Mex when I'm gone. We Texans have our own style, borrowed a little from the south and a little from the west and call it cowboy chic. I will miss the hairspray and teased hair.

We have beaches, mountains, canyons and plains. We have windy days and rainy days - but if I don't like the weather - I'll wait it out 15 minutes then it's gone. There's nothing like a Lubbock thunderstorm - watching the lightning from my college apartment balcony was fabulous.

Texas - I'm moving on now. It's not you ... we've certainly had some great times. There's a mysterious allure of "The South" that I must follow ... but I'll be back soon.

Lots of love,

Stephanie M.

Weekend Recap/Quote of the Day

Our weekend was wonderful! We partook (not sure that's a real word) in some of my favorite July 4th activities: laying out, getting sunburned, grilling out, eating pie, watching fireworks from a rooftop, being with friends and family. It is so nice having an extra day to relax.

These days we are doing some major packing and cleaning out of the condo. We are moving in less than 3 weeks. Slow down, time!

Since packing and cleaning are NOT exciting activities, I have no new pictures to post. Tomorrow I am taking the day off to pack and lay out, so I will leave you with this:



As crazy/busy as this time is right now, I am reminding myself how excited I am to move to Nashville with my best friend!

Quote of the Day

Have a fabulous 4th, everyone. Spend time outdoors (if it's not raining!) You'll find me by the pool. :)