glimpses of a grand opening

i was a a bit of a busy bee at wednesday's grand opening party, so i didn't get many photos. long story short, it was fun and amazing and fabulous. mom, tray, bec, and her friend, marcia all came to celebrate. So much fun!

it's gettin' hott in hurr...

summer is upon us, y'all!! however, contrary to nelly, please, do not take off all your clothes. you guys. it is HOT in plano, texas! 

good thing it's only going to be 106 tomorrow. i was getting a little worried it would be too warm this week. then it's supposed to drop to 102-ish for the rest of the week. i wonder if i should get my sweaters out?? i'd hate to catch a chill from these dropping temps!

i've got to make benny-boy an appointment to get his hair cut. he can't hack it in this heat, either! which brings me to my own hair. i'm thinking i want to cut it. michael (and everyone else i see on the reg) says absolutely not. a girl can dream, though, right?? 

look at those lovely locks! 

toodles, lovelies! have a great week!

flip book video and my baby brother

so, if you'll remember, i talked about this super cool flip book booth that our friends--justin and ashley--had at their wedding. if you don't remember this, you can read about it here. 


anyway, i got the best text EVER earlier from ashley. she sent me mine and mikey's video that we made in order to make our flip book at their wedding! so at the wedding, we were recorded for 7 seconds and then the guys from flip pics printed out the frames and made it into a little flip book for us. so. cool! i posted the video below and though i'm probably a liiiiiiiiiiittle bit biased, i have to say i think it's just the cutest thing ever!

in other news, my baby brother, christian, posted the most amazing pictures on his facebook, and i just had to share some of them with you. a little bit about my brother: 

• he's 20 years old. 
• he's a navy hospital corpsman for the marines.
• he's been based in twentynine palms, ca.
• currently, he's deployed in afghanistan, and got to celebrate his 20th birthday (on june 11) over there.

he and i have been keeping up with each other via email and facebook since he left back in march. he's very positive and just such a sweetheart. he told my mom (who in turn told me, which is just like him telling me, right?) that for his birthday gift, his commanding officer gave him the american flag that had been hanging over their base in afghanistan. what an amazing honor! i'm just so proud of my brother. he's found something that he's very good at (medical-type stuff) and is using it to truly better the world. he goes out each day with his marines knowing that he could possibly have to save their lives at some point. the coolest part about it? if something bad did happen to one of them, he has the knowledge to actually do it. i know that heroes come in all shapes, sizes and walks of life. to me, 'hero' equals my baby brother, christian.

here's some of the pictures he's put up since he's been deployed (some from his birthday, some not). 

that's him on the front row, second from the right end.

silly boy. i think this was for his birthday party?

receiving the flag from his commanding officer.

christian with his flag.

with the afghani locals.

i love this picture.

in the camp.

another birthday shot. 

out on patrol.

my other favorite photo. with some of the afghani children.

is it just me, or do the giant guns and weapons in these photos kind of freak you out, too? i don't think i'll ever get used to seeing my baby brother holding them, especially like it's no big deal. can you imagine walking outside your house and people are just walking around with giant guns?? i can't. i'm so grateful to live in america. 

christian- i love and miss you! and like i said before you left, if you don't come home safely, i'll kill you. 

let the planning begin!

so we have an official wedding ceremony venue! i'm beyond excited!! it was kind of hard to nail down a venue because we needed it to meet the following requirements:


1. location near our reception venue in downtown plano.
2. ability to have our own person marry us and not some stranger (at most of the churches we looked at, they required you to use their minister...totally fine, but we already have someone lined up to do the ceremony. and besides, getting married in a church where you aren't a member by someone who is a total stranger is kind of creepy to me.)
3. not nasty-expensive.
4. availability in march. (why we are stuck on march is beyond me, but oh well.)
5. allows wedding ceremonies only. i was so surprised by how many places told me that they didn't allow ceremonies only. weird. i guess they don't like making money that much.


soooooo, ladies and gents, i am happy to announce that we will be married at the courtyard theatre in downtown plano on march 16, 2012. (yes, that means you will get to celebrate st. patty's day with us. thank us later.)


the courtyard theatre is a historic building in downtown plano and is really gorgeous. it's recently been remodeled and has a very intimate setting. it's a very unique place for a wedding ceremony, but i think it will be so cool! (and as many of you know, michael is quite the thespian, so he's obviously pumped to get married in a theatre. lol)

YES!

i love this. period.

best friends

and i love them both. we took Benny-boy for a walk and got urban crust to-go. nights like this are so fun!

8 tracks...

puts pandora and iHeartRadio to shame...big time. if you haven't ventured out and found 8 tracks...do it, you will not be sorry! 


and click here for a playlist that i couldn't stop listening to today. so what? i love 90s music.


i've been soooo busy at work today and i love it. :) i'm just waiting on michael to get finished at his softball game (i didn't go because i was finishing up some work stuff) and then we're going to get down on some grub at urbanrio...i'm craving the tropical spinach salad. 
have a good week everyone! :)

p.s. btc has its first official meeting next week. i'm puuuuuuumped!

father's day

first off, happy father's day to all the dads out there! 


i hope that everyone has taken time today to tell the special man in their life (it may or may not be their biological father), how much they love, appreciate, and care about them. since i lost my dad two years ago (in may), father's day is one of those things that i really miss. i also think that sometimes i took it for granted...you know, those pesky teenage years when you think you're too 'cool' to do stuff with your parents. we had a tradition when i was growing up to take 'father-daughter' photos each year on father's day, and many of my father's day memories with my dad involve trips to astroworld, galveston, ice cream at vienna coffee, long talks, concerts, and just visiting. we'd talk about everything--my dreams, plans for the future, school, boys, religion, politics, history, science, technology...everything. what i wouldn't give to be able to just hang out with my dad this father's day. 


i do need to add a disclaimer here. i have another dad in my life that has had (and continues to have) such a wonderful impact on my life, and i love him dearly. my stepdad, tray, who's been in my life for the past 5 years is absolutely wonderful. he and i have a great relationship and he's one of the most trustworthy, smart, and hard-working people i know. if you looked up 'provider' in the dictionary, there's sure to be a picture of tray right next to it (as well as dedicated and selfless). i can always count on tray to go fishing, cook out, spend hours looking at movies to buy, watch really good movies, and give great, unbiased advice. 


it obviously sucks that my dad can't be around, but man, do i have a great 'stand-in.' here's some of my favorite pictures of me and my dad. 

december 4, 1987

hangin' out at dad's house...rockin' the bunny slippers
and mickey mouse sunglasses.

seriously? lol. he always just let me do my thing. 

one of our many photo booth sessions.

another photo booth. love it!

paintin' my toesies!

senior night- 2005

foot ball game-2005

parent's weekend at texas tech-2006

one of our many trips to galveston. i think this was back
in 2010 (the date on the photo is wrong). 

at my cousin's wedding in california.

my college graduation from texas tech- december 2009.

bragging rights

so let me start this off by saying that i really don't care too much for people who brag a lot. maybe it's not necessarily the bragging itself that gets me, but the arrogance that is sometimes very prevalent. soooooo, if this sounds arrogant, give me a pass, because what i'm about to say is the truth, the whole, truth, and nothing but the truth (so help me god). 

i have the coolest job ever.

i mean, seriously, i do. i used to always hear people say "well i love my job. when you find something that you love to do, it doesn't feel like work" blah, blah, blah, and would think to myself, "yeah right. you are afraid your boss can hear you, so you're sucking up." well, i totally stand corrected. i get it now. one of the coolest aspects of my job is that i literally learn something new everyday. over the last 9 1/2 months, here's some of my favorites:

1. when ordering commercial items in bulk quantities, always make sure you have a way to get the items off of the 18-wheelers. i was shocked to find out that unlike deliveries to your home, it is not the driver's responsibility to get the items onto your property. they will leave and you will be shit-out-of-luck if you have no loading dock, forklift, or lift gate...which brings me to...
2. lift gates are your best friend. if a sky lift isn't available, lift gates will save your ass and at least get your items off of the truck so they're in your possession. in my case, i could usually sucker ask someone nicely if they would help unload the items once they were off the truck, but others may not be so lucky. 

   

   these little jewels take all of your crap and
   place it nicely on the ground.

3. never underestimate how ridiculous a delivery truck driver, sales representative, customer service rep, [fill in the black with any type of vendor you can imagine] will be... 
4. and when you do, try to stay calm. they lost your order (or didn't place it at all)? they promised a delivery for today but are telling you that it will now be another three weeks (which could jeopardize your opening timeline)? the rep you're working with is just a bitch? take a deep breath and try to relax. if you don't, they are still an idiot, nothing gets accomplished, and you slam down the phone and are still pissed off. 
5. after you hang up that phone, you best get yourself to writing one very...hmmm, what's the most appropriate (and tactful) adjective to use here...we'll go with firm...write one very firm email. copy everyone you can think of on it...your bosses, their bosses, hell, the lady down the street that is always griping about something...whatever. but make sure your complaint is in writing and is specifically addresses all of the issues. 
6. understand that everyone will lie to save their own ass. don't take it personal. just whip out your email(s) that lay out what actually went down, cross you arms, and grin, because you just let them know what's up. 

that's just the tip of the construction-iceberg, kiddies. i haven't even touched the help-to-open-a-restaurant-from-the-ground-up-iceberg. it's got some goodies, too. but in all seriousness, i love going to work and not knowing exactly what's going to happen. it keeps me on my toes. 

the main thing i want to brag about, though, is the perks of my job. yesterday, one of the bar managers asked for my assistance. "sure!" i said. "what's up?" 

"will you test this cocktail i just had the bartender [who's in training] make? we want to make sure it tastes good."

damn. that's exactly what i didn't want to do today--taste-test delicious cocktails. or how about this?

the other day, i got to meet with a potential client who is getting married in december. we go tho go look at rooftop and talk all about the plans for her big day. i gave her several ideas of how she could use our venue and she loved them all. every single one. she also proceeded to make me feel like the smartest human being on this earth. i didn't hate it. 

i also didn't hate wednesday night. michael and i met up with our friends, caycee and lauren, at urban rio, the restaurant that i've been helping with for it's last mock-service dinner. we got to enjoy the most delicious food (which-might i add-i've been able to test several times along the way) and hang out and enjoy each other's company. caycee's sisters, mckenzie and allie, even came by our table for a bit, where mckenzie dominated "the most delicious chicken sandwich EVER!!!" here's a sneak peak into our night. not bad for just another day at the office. :)

the most bomb salad ever. spinach leaves, strawberries, queso fresco,
 jicama, tossed in a hibiscus vinaigrette. yum! and don't worry, it wasn't
all salads-and-such. we got down on some delish beef empanadas, chicken
skewers, beef double-stacked quesadillas, prickly pear margaritas and more! 

allie, mike, me, lauren, caycee, and kenz...and lots of dirty plates!

yahoo! she's 21!!!

today, my little sister is finally 21!!!!! becca, this day has been long overdue, so i hope you have the best. time. ever. 

from this...

to this...guess not much has changed. :) juuuuuust kidding!

my sister, becca, is the most fun, free-spirited, fun-loving, crazy, best person i know. she and i are total opposites in most ways--she's analytical, i'm creative; she's super relaxed, i'm a little more uptight; she's really outdoorsy, i'm not so much, etc. etc. etc.--but we're also a lot alike.  she's my best friend, and will be my maid of honor at mine and michael's wedding. 


happy birthday, sis!! i love you!

justin and ashley say 'i do.'

saturday, michael and i, along with several of our close friends from high school, got to attend our friends--justin and ashley's--wedding. for those of you who don't know, justin, michael and i, all grew up together. as a matter of fact, justin and michael have been friends ever since they were born, as their dads were both state troopers and partners. fast forward to college when justin met ashley. they began dating and were pretty much inseparable after that. that's how i met and got to know her, and we've become better friends since michael and i started dating again. she is the sweetest person, so i can totally see how justin fell for her. she also has impeccable taste when it comes to event decor.

 it was the most beautiful wedding. i spoke to ashley about a week or so before the big day and asked how it was going (aka: have you got totally nuts yet?). the one thing she told me that stuck out was 'well, let's see if my pinterest dreams come true.'  i can totally relate because i have been getting pretty pin happy here lately. 


well, ashley, i don't know if your pinterest dreams came true, but mine did. the wedding was the sweetest, most adorable, thing. every last detail was very rustic and vintage and wonderful and romantic and just lovely. unfortunately, i was having too good of a time and totally spaced on taking pictures of all the decor. what's wrong with me?! 


they had the coolest thing at their reception, too! i've been to many parties/wedding receptions/events where there's a photo booth. justin and ashley had a photo booth by flip pics that created a flip book for you! you got in front of the camera (with whatever props you'd like) and it recorded you for 7 seconds. then, it immediately printed out all the stills and the staff working the booth would staple them together into a book. their website explains it best..."think back to the days when you began doodling on the side of your notebook. one page of a ball bouncing...the next of the ball slightly lower on the page...then hitting the ground...the next page bouncing a little higher. this went on for a while until you flipped the pages back and watched the ball bounce up and down via animation." it was the coolest party favor i've seen. well done, justin and ashley!


it was so good catching up with several friends i hadn't seen in so long, and getting to celebrate with justin and ashley. me and michael even hit the dance floor a few times. let me just tell you, there is absolutely nothing better than a man who can dance...and the real kind of dancing. the kind where you get to hold each other and your feet barely touch the ground and it makes you feel like you're the only people in the room...not that crap where the guy just holds on to a girl's hips while she grinds her ass on their crotch. womp! 


anyway, here's a couple of highlights from our night on saturday. we had a blast!

michael was a groomsman. isn't he handsome?? :)

the blushing bride

me and piper with ashley  

the guys with the groom

the seawrights :) 

me and pipey!

how lucky am i?

jake, mikey, and mark

silly boys