Cheese it Up

Sometimes I feel like Jordan and I live for the weekends.  We are very blessed to have each other, jobs that we both enjoy, an adorable pup, and a pretty house, so we definitely enjoy the week days.  It's just that the weekends are when the action happens!  I don't know if we rest more during the week or the weekends!

Last weekend was no exception.  We managed to strike the right balance of being productive while still having some leisure time.  Those are my favorite kind of weekends because that's a really tough balance to get!

We recently planted some new flowers around our house which was a big chore.  I always get the spring bug this time of year (not the sickness).  I can't help it!  I don't have any sort of green thumb so I suppose this spring tradition will continue for years to come.  In the short time that we've had these pretty flowers, we've spent a lot more time outside.  The nice weather helps too!   Here's the run down of our new plants.

A. Grace Ward Lithodora (aka little blue flowers)

B. Dianthus - this guy is supposed to be hardy and should handle the Texas summer heat.  Well, we'll see about that.

C. More Grace Ward!

D. I actually don't know what this is.  Maybe Alyssum? We found this plant on clearance at Lowes for $3.00.  It was all yellow but with some water and sunshine, he managed to bounce back and looks quite pretty.  I'll let you know if I figure out the name.

E. I can't remember the name of this one either!  I really should be careful not to lose the care cards.  Why did I even try to name them all for you?  Fail.
F. This is Lemon Balm.  It's supposed to deter mesquites so we'll see how it works out.

G.  More Dianthus!

H. Purple Fountain Grass.  It appears to be dead but I have faith that he'll come back.  There's green in there.

I. This is left over potato vine from last year.  This is one of my favorite greeny vines.  It has deep purple leaves that eventually turn lime green and then it sometimes gives you a surprise flower!  Hardy little sucker.

Whew...that was a difficult exercise.  Moving on...

While we were in the Lowes parking lot, we were complaining about how packed the parking lot was.  It turns out that there was a mini car show and several vendors had lined the parking lot with tents and products!  We had a nice little walk checking it out.

There were close to 30 vendors present (I think) and the weather was beautiful.  After about 15 minutes I started to feel the creep of summer heat though. Bracing myself.

While we were walking around we found a Blue La Rue jewelry vendor.  Mom and Dad gave me a beautiful necklace last Christmas and I was excited to dig through all the tiny gems and charms you can put in the locket!  If you've never checked out Blue La Rue, definitely do so soon!  I was really excited to find some gemstones that I loved.

Left Top and Bottom:  All the choices!

Right: My necklace ready to wear!  So perdy!

Later in the day we decided to make dinner and eat outside.  We had all the fixin's so we decided to make fajitas!  They were delicious!!!

Top Left: I loved eating outside!  The sun had just gone down so it was very pleasant.  

Middle Left: Selfie of the two of us!

Top Right: Abby cheesing it up with her under bite!  I think she really liked the fact that we stayed outside so long.  She could sit outside for hours just sniffing the air.

All Others:  Steak, avocado, peppers and onions, the set-up

And then it was FIRE time!  We set up some chairs and the fire pit in the backyard for a little warm evening atmosphere.  We had a fantastic time visiting with our neighbor, Rain!  (Sorry...forgot to take a pic of us).

Abby was acting very confused that we would invade "her" backyard.

It's been a pretty good week so far!  Jordan and I have been gearing up for more festivities this next weekend to celebrate my birthday.  That's right, today, I am 30 years old.  That's a 3 with a 0 after it.  Whoa.

Everyone keeps saying "30 is the new 20".  I hope that's true.  I don't feel like I should be 30 (at least not mentally).  Didn't I JUST graduate college?  I feel like Jordan and I blinked and whole years passed by in that instant.  I can't figure out how I feel about this milestone birthday exactly...  It's just a number, right?  Am I supposed to feel different?  I'm proud of the last 30 years of my life and there isn't much I would change if I did it all over again.  

At the end of the day, I feel like this birthday is less about the number or about how "old" I am (slight cringe at that word).  To me, it's more about my family and friends and all the people in my life that got me where I am today.  There are so many people out there who have been there for me and realizing that is worth celebrating.  So to all my family, and friends, thank you for the joy, love, adventure, and crazy that you've brought to my life!   I love you all so much!

Speaking of sweet friends, I have to close with this picture of an awesome birthday cake my co-worker made for me.  I'm drooling as I type this!  Yum Yum!  A big thank you to my friend, Johnnie, for making this!

I hope you all have a great Easter weekend!