A Countdown of Sorts

10  

The amount of cookies I'll probably consume by tomorrow, thanks to my thoughtful friend Jennifer's sweet delivery.

9

Girls from our community group out together last weekend for Mexican food and country music for Tiffany's surprise birthday party.

Didn't get a picture with all of us... that's a rarity!

8

Months since Jon and I started dating, as of next week. I think I'll keep him around. ; )

He secretly wanted to be the birthday princess...

7

Days of the week that I wish Emily (my hair stylist + community group sister) could do my hair.  Finally got a trim with her last week, and I'm sure no amount of practice will ever give me the ability to use a round brush and hair dryer like her!

6

Months that I've been delaying re-organizing my desk at home. Oops.

5

Weeks (from this weekend) until TCU football returns!

4

Hours spent in a half day of prayer last weekend as part of a discipleship program. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was such a sweet time of praying intentionally for the people in my life and praising God without any distractions.

3

Days until a few college girlfriends and I depart for our second-annual lake getaway. Last year was so relaxing and fun with friends I don't get to catch up with often- I'm really looking forward to it!

2

Number of days of work I've missed thanks to laryngitis.  (Okay, really 2.5)  Let's hope my voice decides to stick around and this horrible cough doesn't.

1

Year since I wrote this post, and what an awesome year of growth it's been.


post idea borrowed from Two Thirds Hazel : )

Road Tripping and Wine Sipping: Fourth of July

^^Jon and I missed the memo about going all out in red, white, and blue attire...^^

I love America, and I love three days weekends.

I kicked off the weekend by surprising my parents to join them (and Uncle Craig and Jager too!) for fireworks in Coppell.  It's always fun to just unlock the front door and waltz in when they aren't expecting me- surprises are the best! Coppell put on an awesome fireworks show, complete with live music.

Jon and I set off on a little road trip bright and early on the 4th.  I always enjoy road tripping- good music, open road, lots to take in, and just time to think- and it was made even better by being with him for our very first road trip together! : )

We met up with fun friends from church- some we've known for a while and some we just met this weekend- in Fredericksburg/Hye, Texas, for a wine tour with Cellar Rat Wine Tours.  Our friend Lauren did a great job coordinating everything, and we loaded in a 12-passenger van and headed to three vineyards in the area- Pedernales Cellars, William Chris Vineyard, and Hye Meadow Winery. Having our own wine tour with Clint was the perfect experience, and we enjoyed all three places for different reasons!  We sampled all kinds of delicious wines- I wish I could remember my favorites! But take my word for it that all three places are worth visiting.

^^at Pedernales. As much as I love being near a big city, it's nice to be out where you don't hear cars driving by or airplanes overhead- just silence.^^

William Chris was closed for the holiday, but we got special access because of Clint.  We learned all kinds of things thanks to him-- the anatomy of a grapevine, how to determine which is your "dominant nostril," and what in the world "wine legs"  and a "wine thief" are.  Clearly we were very mature adults the entire day...

The tour ended at the Hye Market, where they let us sample all sorts of yummy bread with oils and seasonings, beer, moonshine, etc.  I brought back a souvenir for dad that I think will be right up his alley... ; )

Jon and I spent Saturday soaking up the beauty of the Texas Hill Country (why don't we have better scenery in Dallas??) and had a yummy lunch at The Oasis on Lake Travis with this incredible view before we made our way back to DFW for dinner with friends. 

Cheers to a fabulous weekend of road tripping and wine sipping, celebrating our great nation!

Life on Island Time: St. Thomas 2014

Life moves at a slower pace on St. Thomas.  Arrival times are loose at best, no one seems rushed or hurried or worried.  They take the time to stop and greet you with a proper "good morning/afternoon/evening," and ask how they can help you get where you're going, not expecting anything in return.  And when you lament having to return to the mainland, they simply respond, "Don't go back."  

After a week there, it was tempting to move to this gorgeous island permanently...

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton and had a wonderful experience- I would recommend staying there to anyone! The resort grounds were beautiful and clean and the staff was polite, accommodating, and knew us by name.  Walking right past the pool onto the beach wasn't too bad either, and I could sure get used to raising the flag on my lounge chair every time I wanted to order anything.  Why doesn't my apartment pool have that quality of service?! : )


Source



Rum cocktails, a good book, and this view? My idea of the perfect vacation.
  

As you'd imagine, our days mostly followed this pattern:

1. Wake up admiring the sunlit views of paradise beaming in through our window.

2. Breakfast at one of the hotel's delicious restaurants.  I think I had bacon every day.  Only on vacation.

3. Spend all day on the beach, lounging, sipping, splashing, and trying a water sport or two.

4. Wash off the sand and sunscreen and put on our best beachtown attire for a yummy dinner out, some nights at one of the hotel restaurants and some nights in town. 

5. Go to sleep early.  What is it about the sun that just takes it out of you, even when all you did was relax all day?

6. Repeat.  Rough life, this vacation thing.

We got asked every day if we were twins.  And then, people thought Kristen was the older one.  

As long as I still look young when I'm in my 30s, I think I'm okay with this. 

There were iguanas everywhere.  We watched their feeding time one day and saw more than a dozen!

Okay, so really it was these two who did the water sports.  Successfully, at least. I will neither confirm nor deny that I wound up on the shore of the other side of the island when I attempted to kayak...

We opted to take cabs everywhere rather than renting a car, as they drive on the left side of the road in St. Thomas, and the roads are narrow, winding, and steep.  Dad would have terrified us in a rental car.  But the scenery- it was amazing.  God sure created a beautiful world.  I wonder, if I lived somewhere like St. Thomas, would I ever get used to the views and take them for granted?  

Dexter, the awesome cab driver that picked us up from the airport, decided to detour since it was our first visit to the island so he could show us Magen's Bay.  And wow, was it beautiful.

This has major family Christmas card picture potential.  Thanks, Dexter. 

Thanks to Dexter's introduction, we visited Magen's Bay Beach on our own one day, and it was perfect.  It's a public beach, but hardly anyone was there. If you go to St. Thomas, this is a must-visit, but make sure you go on a day when there aren't any crusie ships docked, otherwise it's packed.  This was the clearest, most calm water I've ever been in. Someday, I will go back. 

We took the Lady Lynsey from our hotel over to St. John one evening to have dinner.  This is fun as long as you don't get motion sick like me and my mother, but I did love sitting on top of the catamaran at sunset with my sister, and under the stars on the way back. 

When we ventured from the hotel for more casual dinners, we had great seafood at Fish Tails and devoured their fried banana cheesecake, which is just as heavenly as it sounds.  Duffy's Love Shack was also a fun find- it's a little bar in the middle of a parking lot, but their food was surprisingly delicious and this lime coconut concoction was the best drink I had all week! 

We spent part of our last day shopping in downtown Charlotte Amalie, where my sister and I snagged silver Cruzan bracelets as souvenirs and we took advantage of duty-free prices and brought back a few bottles of Cruzan rum.  I'm looking forward to some coconut cocktails this summer that will at least make me feel like I'm still at the beach...

 

Thanks for an unforgettable vacation, mom and dad!
See you again one day, St. Thomas!