Have yourself a married little Christmas

Although this is Jim and I's 6th Christmas together, this one is very special because it is our first Christmas as a married couple. One tradition that I waited to start until now was sending out a family Christmas card and here is our first one!

My cousin Laura took this photo and it was the only one out of literally a hundred where both the dogs were looking at the camera. Who knew taking a photo with your pets could be so difficult.

Happy holidays everyone!

Lexi

Layering

The weather around here lately has been absolutely nuts. It ranges from 40 to 80 in a matter of days and I'm sure the squirrels are wondering what season it is anyway. 

For me, temperature fluctuation means lots of layers.  During the day it's warm enough just to throw on a light sweater (or chambray or flannel), and at night I need a jacket and a scarf. 

I think the key to layering is to make sure no one piece is too bulky. This daytime look consists of a light tank top and chambray, which still fit nicely under my jacket at night.

I'm leaving next week for my big New York vacation, so get ready for some pictures of fabulous sights and delicious food! 

Lexi

High fives for thigh highs

It may look nice and warm in these pics, but Texas is starting to cool down. I think fall is my favorite season to dress for. I love wearing boots, scarves, chunky sweaters, anything and everything cozy!

After seeing this pin, I fell in love with the idea of wearing thigh highs. When I decided I wanted a pair, I shopped online for a pair that was known to be forgiving at the top (meaning, they don't make my leg look like a sausage in it's casing). These got great reviews on Amazon.com so I took a chance and I'm so glad I did. They are tight enough to stay up, but don't create any unwanted bulging or creasing. 

In other news, I realized the other day that I hadn't had my hair colored in over 3 months so my cousin Laura gave me a nice little refresh and a quick bang trim. Having a hair stylish in the family has it's perks!

Top: Forever 21
Skirt: Gap
Thigh highs: Amazon.com
Boots: DSW

Lexi

Shopping for NYC

via

Jim and I are visiting NYC this December with our traveling buddies, Ty and Liz. This will be my third time visiting and I am beyond excited to see the city with Jim. While we're there we plan on seeing The Rockettes, eating in Little Italy, seeing the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center, and tons more. 

I realized pretty early on that all of my Texas jackets are a joke compared to what I am going to experience when I get up there, so I've been on the hunt for a proper jacket for a while. Some requirements I've had are:

• Needs to be wool or wool blend
• Needs to have Thinsulate, which helps maintain your body heat
• Needs to be at least mid-thigh length
• Needs to be matched with black or brown

After much searching and pinning, I decided the perfect jacket for the trip would be the Jcrew Lady Day Coat. It met all of my requirements and I love the single breasted look, but I didn't love the price tag. After browsing Ebay for a few weeks I found my jacket for less than half the price! The previous owner ordered the wrong size and couldn't wear it. That's what I love about Ebay, you can find great deals on brand new items too.

Now that I've got my jacket, I can start looking for shoes. Lately I've been drawn to more 'grungy' winter looks: loose tops, moto style booties, messy hair. Love it all.  Here are the top two contenders for a daytime walking bootie:

buy here

buy here

I'm trying to justify just buying both......

Lexi

Olive

I got these olive skinnies at Old Navy last year and I have been obsessed with them ever since. The other pairs of colored skinnies I own aren't really neutral so it has surprised me that these skinnies have become a wardrobe staple for me. 

I have recently realized that olive green is my new favor neutral. It goes with black and brown, and pretty much every other color too. Pretty soon I'm going to end up with all olive green pieces, I just know it. Another color I'm slowly warming up to this fall is mustard yellow thanks to my cousin, Laura. I'm not a fan of it with everything, but it is looking pretty good with muted colors like navy right now. 

Lexi  

Giada at 10 weeks

Man raising a puppy is tough. These last 3 weeks have gone by super fast and painfully slow at the same time. I'd like to document her growth and what's new with her every few weeks. Here's what's new with Giada now:

STATS:

Age: 10 weeks old (born on August 16th, we picked her up on October 4th)
Weight: 12lbs (she gained 4lbs in 10 days!)
Food: 1/2 cup three times a day
Favorite thing to do: Wrestle with Rocco
Latest nickname: Giada Frittata (Jim came up with that one, since frittatas are an Italian dish and Giada is an Italian name)

UPDATES: 

-She's been to the vet twice for vaccine boosters, she loves it because she gets lots of kisses and treats while she's there.

-The first 2 weeks we kept her in a crate next to our bed at night and let her outside to go to the bathroom usually twice a night. She never really got used to her crate and seemed to really not like being in it, so this week we've been letting her sleep in her playpen at night.

-She seems to enjoy sleeping in her playpen a lot more. She has a puppy pee pad in there to use and she can sleep on her blanket or on the cool concrete floor. A major plus of this is...

-We no longer have to get up to let her outside during the night! Wahoo. Until she can hold her bladder through the night (she'll probably be about 6 months old when this happens), she can use the pee pad. 

-Her face is slowly starting to get more black spotting and her nose is almost all black now. She's started to get some black around her eyes too. 

-She currently has a little skin infection on her tummy that we're treating with medicated shampoo, and also has an ear infection that we're treating with ear drops. These issues are unfortunately common for bulldogs, and are something we'll have to keep an eye on her entire life.

-She is teething big time right now. She loves to chew on your hand, ankle, face, whatever she can get to. Her evil alter ego name is needle teeth. 

-She loves to wrestle with Rocco. He will be sound asleep, and she'll get a running start and jump on his face. He's been really good about being gentle with her, but sometimes he retreats into his bed for peace and quiet. 

Future Goals:

-We are continuously working on potty training with her, which she is doing well with. Hopefully she'll keep getting better and better until she is fully potty trained before the end of the year.

-We are teaching her the word 'no', so she knows not to chew on cords or Jim's guitar.

-We were taking her on nightly walks, but she broke a nail so the vet told us to hold off on walks until she is a little bit bigger. We're excited to try again soon!

Lexi

Skillet ravioli

Sometimes my weeknights are too busy (or I am too lazy) to cook an elaborate meal, and I need something simple and quick. This recipe fits the bill.

I originally found this recipe on this website, and changed a few things to make it my own. I love using fresh mushrooms in tomato sauces so I added those, along with some extra garlic and tons of Parmesan cheese. This dish really was a one pot meal and was really good, just be sure to let it simmer long enough to reduce the liquid so it isn't a soup.

Ingredients: Tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, cheese ravioli, chicken stock, cheese, onion, garlic, mushrooms and Italian sausage

Not the best pic, but I was too hungry to take a better one.

Safari

This blouse and belt combo makes me feel like I should be in an African safari. I've been really loving patterned skinny belts because most of my tops are solid, and the belt adds an interesting detail. I also just love skinny belts in general because they are fabulous. 

These jeans never used to fit quite right, but for whatever reason they are a perfect fit these days. I don't know what caused the change, but they're my new go to jeans. Ever have that happen to you?

Blouse: Old Navy
Belt: Target
Jeans: Kohls (maybe, I can't really remember)
Flats: Toms

Lexi

In between seasons

I've been waiting all summer long for fall and as soon as the temperature dips below 70 it's officially boot weather! I always cherish the few moments between summer and fall when it is just cool enough to mix the two seasons in one outfit. This outfit kept me warm enough to handle the breeze but was still appropriate when the breeze died down later in the afternoon. 

Gettin' a little windy

This year my family celebrated my mom's birthday at a sushi restaurant downtown called Bar Chi. I hadn't been before, and I was pleasantly surprised with the sushi and the prices. Highly recommended. Happy birthday mama!

Apparently Miles and Jim didn't get the memo to smile

Lexi

Meet our newest edition, Giada

Jim and I have been talking about getting a playmate for Rocco ever since we got him in 2009. At the time Chloe was 10 and Sammie was 11, and they basically wanted nothing to do with him. We knew we wanted to get a puppy but three dogs was our limit, so we enjoyed our dog family for the time being. Chloe suddenly passed away in 2012 and after we got over that shock we started to think about getting a puppy. Well shortly after that happened we started planning our wedding and decided we should wait to get a puppy until we had gone on our honeymoon. 

I had just started leisurely researching breeders when Sammie suddenly passed away in early August. Rocco was noticeably sad and had never been the only dog before. After that I put the pedal to the metal and finally found a breeder I was comfortable using. To be fair, I have to admit that I was being very picky about where this puppy came from. If a breeder's website looked a little sketchy, or they said something I didn't like on it, they were ruled out immediately. I'm not saying I found the perfect breeder (there is no perfect breeder out there), but I found someone who I think can give us the puppy we've been thinking about for years. 

Anyway, this picture if of little Giada, we get to pick her up in 2 weeks and we are beyond excited! We've been searching for her for 4 years and now she's finally almost here. Welcome to our family little Giada!

Lexi

Lately according to Instagram

Just look at this picture of Rocco with his little teeth hanging out.

 Recently it seems like we have a ton of pictures that need to be framed that have just been sitting on my desk for months. I have multiple rooms that I want to hang these pictures in, but I decided to start first with the guest bathroom. I finally picked out the poem that was read at our wedding as well as a little tree painting that I've had for a while. 

 I decided that for our upcoming trip to NYC, I would splurge on a new pair (or two) of booties and a new jacket. I'm currently torn between these booties, I can't decide which color I like better! Thoughts?

 A few weeks ago we had a storm in Austin and a tornado basically dropped on our neighborhood. This is a picture of what I saw when I opened the front door after a tree fell in our front yard.

I'm about to be an aunt again! My whole family is counting down the days until they can all meet sweet Isla! She's due to be here any day now!

 In this blog post I talked about the new juicer we got, and I'm still loving it! I've been trying to juice every other day. I've also been experimenting with different fruits, this particular mix has pineapple and raspberry along with the usual spinach and kale.

I had this wine one time at a friend's house and got it again only because of the cool label. It also tastes pretty fabulous. 

I got this little fancy coffee drink the other day while brunching with some girlfriends. It was so good, except it was the strongest espresso drink I've ever had and I was high on caffeine for 3 days afterwards. 

Denim on denim

I bought this shirt on the sale rack at American Eagle a few years ago, and have never actually worn it. When I saw it I thought it was such a good deal that I would be stupid not to get it, well turns out I was stupid to get it because I had no idea how to style it. Until now! This blog post made me see my shirt in a whole new way and I decided to wear it for the first time ever. 

An easy way to pull off wearing denim on denim is to make sure the two pieces are very different shades, so you don't look like you're wearing a Canadian tuxedo. I am a huge fan of super dark wash jeans, and had this pair sitting on the top shelf in my closet begging to be worn. 

Lexi

The 360 bridge

The other day I took my cousin Laura to the 360 bridge for a quick photo op. She likes photography and was pretty impressed with the views. While we were there I had her snap a few pics of my new favorite shoes! They are so comfortable! 

Since I've gotten them 2 people have bought a pair after seeing mine! I really should be a spokesperson for these beauties.

On an unrelated note, I just got a gift card to one of my favorite online shops, Modcloth. It seems likes every time I get a gift card somewhere I can't find anything I like anymore! I guess i'll just have to wait until the fall stuff comes out, but this card is burning a hole in my pocket bad.

Lexi

Shoe Miracles

I originally saw these wedges over at Kendi Everyday and thought they were adorable. When I saw that they were Dr. Scholl's I knew they had to be practical and comfy too. I followed the link that Kendi provided and found that they were $65, that's pretty pricey for my taste. I shrugged my shoulders and forgot about them.

About a month later, something amazing happened. I was at the outlet mall with the hubby and my cousin, and we walked by a Dr. Scholl's shoe store so I decided to pop in. Found these cuties for only $30! And to top it off, it just happened to be tax free weekend. It was a shoe miracle.

Side note: These are the most comfortable wedges I have ever owned, my poor tortured feet love them. 

Lexi

Juicing

It's no secret that in our household we don't get near the amount of fruits and veggies we need everyday. I usually like most veggies but I'm not big on fruit, and Jim isn't big on either one. 

We recently decided to get a juicer to supplement all the nutrients we aren't getting on a daily basis in hopes of being healthier. Jim did all the research on which juicer to buy, I was just along for the ride. 

So far we've only done one batch of juice, but we're looking forward to trying different recipes! Share your favorite juice recipe if you've got one!

Spinach, kale, broccoli, strawberries, blueberries, apples, plums, oranges, pears, bananas, lemons, and peaches

Pulp and juice

Yum!

Homeslice

Earlier this summer my cousin Laura took a huge life changing step, moving away from her (and my) hometown in Illinois, and settling in Austin. She's been here for almost 2 months now and Jim and I have been showing her everything that Austin has to show. 

The other week we decided to take her to the best pizza place in Austin, Homeslice. It's so delicious that there are two locations within 50 feet of each other, and both are packed most of the time.

While we waited for a table we went next door to Guero's for some live music and drinks. Two hours later (yes, we waited for 2 hours) we finally got a table and had the most amazing pepperoni and mushroom pizza. Homeslice was just one of the restaurants on the list of places I want to show Laura, there's so much wonderful food in Austin to try!

Lexi