Day 365: December 31, 2011

Happy New Year!! I had a fantastic 2011 and I'm looking forward to 2012! Thanks for reading along with my Year to Remember blog. 2011 certainly was memorable. I enjoyed soaking up every moment of 2011. My theme for 2012 is Make it Count!

For New Year's Eve, I celebrated by having dinner with my mom, Darrell and Grandma at one of our favorite places. Then, I met up with one of my good girl friends, Megan, and we shared a bottle of champagne and then went to a party hosted by one of my oldest friends, Tiffany.


Handsome Frankie wearing a bow tie to celebrate NYE!

Megan and I at the NYE Party!

Tiffany and I at the NYE Party!

Day 363: December 29, 2011

While in PHX, I took advantage of the warm weather and ran outside, around my Grandma's community. The scenery was beautiful, there is just something about mountains that is just breathtaking.

Day 361: December 27, 2011

After I got home from the Christmas trip to Kansas, I unpacked my bags and packed a suitcase for PHX to visit my Grandma Rita and Aunt Mari!


Grandma Rita and me

It was great to see them, celebrate Christmas, relax and visit with them.

Day 340: December 6, 2011

After nearly a year and a half of living in the 'stone' ages, I finally got internet today!!!

I'm glad to be living in the 21st century again, with a new LED TV, a blu ray player and internet!

Day 335: December 1, 2011

WoW! Three hundred and thirty four days ago I started this blog, as a way to remember the year. I've had fun chronicling and documenting this year. I hope you've enjoyed reading it. I can't wait to look back on this blog years from now and realize that 2011 was a year to remember. With one month to go, now I have to figure out what my 2012 resolution will be. I'm open to ideas. :)

Day 279: October 6, 2011

Even when work gets busy- I need to remember to take time to play and enjoy life.

Day 275: October 2, 2011

I went to Joe T Garcia's in Fort Worth for dinner. There was a bit of a wait, but it was totally worth it. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the beautiful Texas 'fall' weather. The food was delicious and the margaritas were amazing.


I'm already looking forward to my next trip!

Day 266: September 23, 2011

I witnessed history tonight, as the Rangers clinch AL West title, the 5th playoff berth in franchise history.

It was the perfect evening to watch a baseball game. The weather was gorgeous, the company was amazing, and the Rangers won!

Win, win, win.

Day 260: September 17, 2011

I love wine! I've expanded my taste for both red and white wine. I went to Grapefest, a fun wine festival near Dallas, with a few of my girlfriends and we had a blast trying all different types of wine. It was a lovely evening.

Day 250: September 7, 2011

Tropical Storm Maria


She is still quite a few days away from making landfall. Since she and I share the same name, I plan on monitoring her process.

Day 248: September 5, 2011

Happy Labor Day!

And that's exactly what I did- I enjoyed my day off from work by reading poolside and soaking up the last bit of summer.

Day 246: September 3, 2011

I may have a slight fetish for purses and shoes.


I may have quite a collection of shoes already, but I can't pass up a good deal. I got all five of these shoes for less than $120 total.

And you never know, maybe one of these pairs of shoes will change my life.

Day 241: August 29, 2011

As I travel around the US for work, I've gotten to experience many neat things, like great restaurants, cool (and not so cool) places, and shopping!


I went to my first H&M store in Hollywood, California. I've been to several other since then, including St. Louis and Indianapolis. Dallas finally got an H&M and I've been itching to go! I had the day off work and it was the perfect day to grab one of my girl friends and drag her along as my shopping buddy. Even though it was over 100 degrees outside, I got some cute clothes for fall. Bring on the cooler weather.

Day 211: July 30, 2011

The first Harry Potter book came out in 1997, right before I started middle school and ever since then I was hooked to the series. The first movie was released in 2001, while I was a freshman in high school. The final book came out in 2007, when I was a junior in college on an internship living in Houston. The final movie was released this year, 2011, now I'm an adult, graduated from college, with a full time job and working in Dallas. My mom and I read each book and saw every Harry Potter movie together. This past October, we went to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando. It was fun sharing our love of the Harry Potter series together.


Wizarding World of Harry Potter

My mom and I saw the final movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II and it marks the end of the Harry Potter era. I grew up with Harry Potter. Now, I'm fourteen years older from when the series first began, but I still love the books and movies and it will forever be apart of my childhood.

Day 205: July 24, 2011

The river floating group stayed in a cute and charming house near the Comal River for the weekend.



We had the sweetest neighbors drop by to welcome us, deer!


With just a shake of a milk jug filled with corn, we had numerous deer within minutes right out the back door.

Day 204: July 23, 2011

I may be a Native Texan (and proud of it), but until today I had never floated a river.

We rented tubes from Rockin R' and floated down the Comal River (which may be easily confused with the Gruene River). The river is spring fed, so the water was nice and cool and felt great in the hot Texas heat. It was a ton of fun!

Day 197: July 16, 2011

It rained Saturday night! It was a welcomed relief from the Texas heat; it cooled off to below 80 degrees.

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."

Day 190: July 9, 2011

One of my dear friends, Lauren, is a horse trainer at a barn in the DFW area. She absolutely loves her job. She was in a horse show competition on Saturday, and a few of my girl friends decided to go to the show and support her. It was my first horse show experience.

Lauren looked like a natural. Her love for animals and her job is refreshing.

Day 182: July 1, 2011

I have a nice collection of purses that have been hiding in my closet because I couldn't display them properly. My mom came up with the perfect way to showcase them. (Moms always have the best ideas!!) I made my first solo trip to Home Depot to get the required hooks and took matters into my own hands to screw the hooks into the wall and hang my purses.

Exhibit A- Purse Collection

Exhibit B- Hooks from Home Depot

Exhibit C1- 1/2 of the finished result
Exhibit C2- Other 1/2 of the finished result

I love the way it turned out! It is a functional and fun way to showcase my purses!