domesticity

for those of you who know me well, and as i've mentioned before, i am not very domestic. even as i write this, sweet michael is preparing our dinner (pork chops, garlic & butter pasta and bread & butter--gotta love being from south).

because you all know how i despise domesticity, you should all be very proud to know that i, rachel rouse, made home made bread last night. and before you ask, no. michael did not help...not even once! i'm pretty proud of myself. sooooo, if you haven't put two and two together yet, the aforementioned bread we're having with dinner is my home made bread. i'm stoked.

one hour to go!

just call me mrs. baird.

by the way, we had to go to wal-mart to buy our bread maker. neat.

 

just another day at the office...

let me begin this by saying i love texas country music. there's just something about sippin' a cold beer, kickin' back, and listening to some good ol' texas country....and two steppin' is always a good time. 

so i'm sitting at work a couple of weeks ago, and i get a call about a launch party for a new wine called thorny rose. 'thorny rose?' you say. don't worry. it's not some weird brett michaels brand. (get it? thorny rose? brett michaels? every rose has it's thorn? hahaha. i crack myself up.) it's actually a new, millineal-targeted brand that's coming out in the next few months! constellation brands and republic national distributing company were planning a launch party for the new brand, and wanted to have the party at rooftop! the event was monday, and overall, everything went awesome!!


and now on to the most important item...my two cents on thorny rose wines. thorny rose is not only affordable (retails for around $14 per bottle!), it's trendy, cool-looking (because that's the most important thing ever), and delish! (i got to sample some! the sauvignon blanc was my favorite!)


the other amazingly cool thing about thorny rose? stoney larue is currently the 'face' of the new brand! he was also at the event and did an impromptu concert! he sang 'oklahoma breakdown' (my personal favorite, featured above) and a single from his new album, 'velvet.' 


here's some pics of the party! (see! i have been busy doing something...i don't just neglect my blog willingly!) oh yeah, and sorry for the kind-of crappy pictures. all i had was my phone. anyone want to buy me a ballin' camera like this one, hook it up!

entry way!

merch. table

photo opp area

centerpieces

buffet table decor (catering by urban rio) 

tasting table

acoustic concert time!

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!

lunch dates

i absolutely love going on dates with michael. since we live together, it's easy to let the little things like dates and surprises go by the wayside. because of that, we try to go on little dates at least once a week. it can be as simple as going to get gelato (like we did when it was storming earlier this week), or grabbing a quick lunch, or just taking benny-boy to the park and hanging out. we're kind of on opposite schedules with our jobs, so we try and make time every week to spend some 'together' time and enjoy each other's company. 

cuties

today, we decided to kill two birds with one stone and take benny for a walk and grab lunch. there's a cute, new little market/deli right across the street from our apartment called posh nosh. they have a couple of tables outside that have umbrellas for shade, so we decided to stop for a sandwich. benny especially enjoyed being outside and getting to try and visit with every person that walked by. 

he's such a social butterfly. :) 

we split the 'posh club' and it was delicious. there was also tons of kids walking around, all decked out in 50s clothes. we saw everything from poodle skirts to guys with rolled up jeans and leather jackets. one little guy passed us and we asked what it was for. he informed us that they were the cast for a local children's theatre who are currently performing 'grease.' seems like that'd be a fun one to watch (since 'grease' is one of my absolute favorites!). you can buy tickets for the show here!


hope y'all have the best weekend ever!

breakfast for dinner

(photo provided by someecards.com)

thankfully, michael does not. 

he loves to cook, and i love to let him cook. mikey has the night off of work tonight and we've decided on breakfast-for-dinner...my absolute favorite meal. and i love nights like this. quiet, relaxing, and not too hot outside.

mike cooking his delicious, think, juicy, bacon.

due to weight watchers, or "the watch" as i like to call it, my breakfast-for-dinner isn't as exciting as it could be. here's how it breaks down...

michael                                    

-egg whites with lots of cheese       

-6 pieces thick, juicy, bacon         

-5 jr. biscuits                       

-loads of apple butter                

-fruit

me

-1/4 c. egg whites with a sprinkle of cheese

-2 little turkey sausage links

-2 slices of 45-calorie, wheat bread

-around 10 sprays of lo-cal spray butter

-fruit

now, i'm not saying i'm jealous of his delicious meal...what the hell am i talking about??! of course i'm jealous of his meal! especially that bacon...my goodness! it smelled the whole house up with the scent of deliciousness! and what do i get? some freaking spray butter and turkey sausage. WOMP! 

whew! thanks for bearing with me while i threw my little temper tantrum. (michael really is a saint...i have tantrums quite often. he lets me get it all out, gives me a smile, and then goes about his merry way. i think he finds them endearing. i'm very lucky.) 

anyway, the watch will be proud as i held my ground and didn't give in...okay, i had half of a piece of bacon...but come on! that's pretty good! i mean, look at it!

(mike was already about half finished.)

now i'm off to try and persuade mikey to resume lost...we're on the second season and i loooove it! 

tomorrow's friday! cheers! 

memorial day 2012

forgive me, as this post will be long. however, it's also filled with the best things in life--friends, family, love, celebrations, and lots and lots of pictures! first and foremost, though, i want to give a big thank you to the former and current members of our military to help defend our freedoms! especially my little brother, christian, who is currently serving in afghanistan as a medic for the marines. christian- i love and miss you!!

one of my favorite past times is going to my friend, amy's, lake house on lake cypress springs. so many of my best memories with my friends involve going out for a day on the lake at amy's house! we even talked about all of our "good ol' days" in jr. high with amy's mom, nancy, when we would take the boat out and think we were just the coolest thing. little did we know, our moms/friends of nancy would keep a distant eye on us at all times. it was really funny coming to this realization this weekend because looking back, i don't think any of us had ever felt as free/grown up/cool as we did when we would take the boat out at amy's house. 

i headed to mt. vernon on saturday morning to begin celebrating memorial day. michael had to work a double on saturday, so he couldn't come with me. bummer. at any rate, i decided to go visit my papa and his wife, mary lou, first thing because i hadn't seen them in such a long time. we got to be lazy and talk about weddings and work and friends and plays and concerts--all great things! we also had the best lunch! papa and mary lou started their own little garden and i got to make the freshest garden salad with veggies straight from their yard! i must say, i felt like quite the little hippie...and loved it. 

rachel's freshest. salad. ever.

-fresh garden lettuce
-fresh garden cucumbers (these were sweet, crisp and delicious!)-cauliflower (from the store)
-sweet bell pepper (from the store)
-strawberries (from the store)
-fat free raspberry vinaigrette
-seven grain toast

you guys. this salad was absolutely amazing. you should make it and be amazed (and super healthy!). papa, mary lou, and i got to have a great visit and i got to relax in front of this. don't think it gets too much better! :)

we got to watch the birds and ducks near their dock, too!

once we finished with lunch, i headed just down the road to amy's house. take a look at the shots below to see what we were up to on saturday!

first off, i was greeted by this little nugget.
meet mallory, amy's niece. my heavens
she's adorable!!

loved getting to catch up with my girls! from left to right,
that's kim, leigh anne, me and amy. you can hardly tell
(because leigh anne has the best body ever) but sweet
little layton is under that grey cover up. :)

leigh anne (+ layton) and kim on the boat relaxing

the 40 lbs. of crawfish we got after. we didn't put
much of a dent in it, but man did we try!

wild bill, tom, amy and jake getting down on some mudbugs!

kim, me and amy with our dinner. let me just tell you,
were it not for the several cocktails i'd had that day,
there's no way i would've been able to peel those crawfish.
i have issues with food that looks the same
dead as it did when it was alive. ick!

winona and tracy even made an brief appearance.

jill's summer brew of genius

-3 modelos
-tequila to taste (we used blanco and it was delish!)
-diet sprite
-fresh lime juice
(mix it all together and enjoy the wealth. thank me later.)

evening booze cruise with jill, jake, amy, tom and wild bill. 

beautiful sunset and the perfect ending to
another successful holiday at amy's!

sunday morning, we woke up and nancy fixed us some delicious pancakes and bacon. i headed back to plano around lunchtime so i could be home by the time mikey got off of work. we decided to take it easy sunday night and just watch some movies. there's a blockbuster close to our house that is going out of business, so we thought we could go by there and get some cheap rentals. much to our delight/surprise, they were no longer renting dvds, but had almost all their movies on sale for $0.49-$2.00!! to put it lightly, madness ensued.

we have problems. lol. and this isn't
even all of the movies we bought.

we enjoyed the second season of lost on sunday night and got up monday morning and hit up the outlets in allen. mike wanted to try and find a new swim suit and i ended up finding some super cute coral, linen pants and some fabulous printed shorts. (i wore the pants today and they are amazingly comfortable!)

headed to lunch with some friends at pluckers.

we ate with a group of our close friends and then headed to our house for a relaxing day by the pool. 

i write all of this when i really just mean to say: it was a great weekend!

how pinteresting!

yes, that's a corny dog, and yes, i'm 24.

so as i sit and enjoy my dinner corny dog, i'm catching up on some pinterest. everyone who's anyone knows that pinterest is the go-to site for, well, anything. i, myself, have been trying to narrow the scope of how i want to decorate for the wedding (302 days and counting). in doing so, i've realized that i really want our wedding to look, feel, and be like me and mike...simple, casual and fun. therefore, i've decided on a spring-y, rustic theme...wildflowers, nature-influence, candles, etc. more importantly, i want our friends and family to walk away thinking, "that was so much fun!" here's some things that i'm particularly drawn to right now...oh! and you can follow my pinterest here. 

we won't have table numbers, but my goodness
i LOVE those old books! perhaps covered in newspaper?

how wonderful are these??
outdoors-y, and sooooo romantic!

love these grey dresses! casual
and so fun! i wonder if they (or
something like them) come in navy?

my dream flowers! still haven't
decided how i feel about mason
jars. yes, they're adorable and
definitely rustic, but a tad-bit
overdone, wouldn't you say?

love this crudely mad crate!

i obviously am obsessed with centerpieces right now. haha. literally 80% of my attention automatically goes to centerpieces/flowers. is that normal?? 

i bought the newest john mayer album this morning. i've only listened to a couple of tracks, but so far, i'm liking what i hear! hahaha. i seriously just laughed out loud at myself because i'm SUCH a record exec. wannabe..."album?"..."track?"...who talks like that (mainly "track" is what gets me). 

anyway, it's definitely a different sound...more mumford-and-sons-ish. once i listen to the whole thing and form a real opinion (i'm sure that will be tough), i will post a review. in the meantime, let's enjoy one of my personal favorites...

oh, god bless you, john! happy weekend everyone!

why i love my 'old' friends

when i say 'old' i mean it not to describe their age or former influence on my life, it is said as more of a term of endearment. i got to catch up with two of my oldest friends today and let me tell you...some things (or people in this case) you can just always count on. :) 

let's start with leigh anne. we met circa 2001 when she moved to mt.vernon from mt. pleasant, and we've remained in touch and close friends for over 11 (oh my goodness!) years. leigh anne is truly a graceful human being. she is (and always has been) a fun-loving, silly, wonderful person. somehow, we've always had something to do with each other's love lives. for example, in the 8th grade, a boy (who will remain nameless...leigh, you know who i'm talking about), wanted her to be his girlfriend. he asked her in a weird way, and she didn't really get what he was saying. i politely explained, and they lived happily ever after for a couple of months (you know how jr. high relationships go). :) on my end, as a matter of fact, it was sweet leigh anne's wedding that i was attending when i ran back into michael. (see the short version of that story here.) basically, i owe my upcoming marriage to her. :) now, leigh anne and her husband, landon, are married and live in waco where they're expecting their first child, a son, this fall. 

here is leigh anne and landon dancing their first
dance at the, now infamous, wedding.
isn't she just lovely?

after finally catching up with leigh anne for a bit on the phone (we'd been playing phone tag for a couple of days), i went to dinner with amy (aka tracy powers) at bambu in richardson. 

first off, you guys...if you've never been there and you're in the dallas-area, i highly recommend it. amy and i split the cashew chicken with jasmine rice and the crying tiger beef (yes, that's the real name) with sticky rice. it was delish...the perfect amount of spicy, was filling without over doing it (you know how thai food can be), and was very decently priced. can you ask for more? i think not. 

anyway, back to amy. she and i became best friends back in the 6th grade and she's basically been there for me through it all (i'm sure an elaboration of the "it all" will come eventually, but today's not the day!). one thing particularly fabulous about amy is that she shares my disdain for domesticity. neither one of us can cook--nor do we wish to--we don't really clean, and the idea of having kids right now causes an anxiety attack. she's also my own personal carrie bradshaw (minus the finicky obsession with men, chain-smoking, and column-writing). she graduated from fit in new york and knows her shit when it comes to fashion. 

"the world is my runway, bitch."

as usual, we got to catch up on each other's lives and talk wedding things...namely my bachelorette party. :) details to come! sadly, though, i forgot to take pictures to document our girl time! fear not...there will be other opportunities!

so why do i love my 'old' friends? because some things never change. good night lovelies!

p.s. mikey-poo turns 24 tomorrow! i can't wait for him to get home from work and open his present! :)