It's All About That Lace - Girl's Weekend in NOLA

Last weekend I left my baby boy for the first time to go on a little trip with my girlfriends! One of my closest friends is getting married in April, so we traveled to New Orleans to celebrate how fabulous she is! I have known Lacey for 10-11 years now, we met in college at A&M, and then both moved to Houston after we graduated. We are so excited for her to tie this knot this spring! Her sister put together this trip for us, and found a really cute house in a great location.

We drove in late Thursday night, so our next day we started our day we scrumptious beignets and NOLA coffee at Cafe Du Monde... probably my most favorite stop the whole trip! You walk up to the restaurant and wait in line to get in. Once you go inside, it is wall to wall tables full of people just eating beignets. There are some random waitresses that direct you to tables but you basically choose where to sit and then they come take your order, which is simple... how many beignets and how many coffees or hot chocolates do you want?! We had such a sweet surprise when one of our friends who couldn't come on the trip because she has a tiny one at home, paid for our breakfast! Who thinks of that!? So sweet!!

Walking to breakfast... 

The bride to be!

Getting the bump ready for all that powered sugary goodness ;0)

After breakfast, we walked around town a little bit and took a picture with this cool dude... and then headed back to our house to get ready for our spa day!

Lindsey booked us a spa room, so we had a place to sit and chat while we waited on our massages or pedicures. We brought snacks and just enjoyed talking and getting pampered!

That night, Lindsey gave everyone a little goodie bag with some candy, nail polish and these cute masks! Seriously, this girl went all out for her little sis!

The bridal party minus Jess!

Lindsey also made reservations at Brennan's for dinner, which was super yummy! We had some oyster appetizers and I had some gumbo and salad, and then bread pudding for dessert! 

Saturday morning we met our next reservation at a little place called the Courtyard of Two Sisters, where we ate yummy brunch outside and listened to some outdoor jazz music! I loved the atmosphere of this place, and the waiter was so nice! They also had the live jazz musicians come and sing to Lacey! So precious! I think half of us were crying by the end of it!

After brunch, we walked around town and did some shopping. I bought an ornament for our Christmas tree, it's my favorite kind of souvenir when we travel! There were a ton of cool shops and lots of live music in the streets and people doing artwork or some kind of show for the crowds.

Of course I had to stop and take a pic of this!

And who can come to a city with trolleys and not ride one?! Of course we couldn't pass that up! We rode down to the Garden district and then came back and walked back to our house.

We went to a silly dance class that afternoon and then hit Ted's Frosttop for dinner. Y'all... the best root beer floats... like for real... I want another one right now, they were so yummy. The burgers were good here too. I think everyone got the kid's meal buger and except for me and the other prego, Katie Beth haha... I was glad I got the big one though, I like a big ole' juicy burger!

Yes Please!

 So Sunday we tried to go to a church in New Orleans, but that was a flop... not in service anymore, which was very sad. So we drove on to Gonzales and worshipped there at (ironically enough) Southside church of Christ!

After church, we stopped off at George's Diner situated under I-10! This place was the coolest, the people who worked here were super nice and there were dollar bills tacked up everywhere, even on the ceiling! Yummy catfish and po' boy sandwiches here for sure! 

Love this momma!

We headed back to Houston after this and made pretty good time. Got to see my little man and hubbie at church! I definitely cried when he saw me and said, "mommy!" He just snuggled on me and kept looking up at me like is it really you?? The break was nice, but I missed him so much and was so happy to be back with him. He really is my heart on the outside of my body. 

Best wishes to my sweet friend Lacey! You will be a gorgeous bride!

Will you be my Valentine? :0)

I love Valentine's day... I know some people think it's dumb, a bunch of bologna from the card companies blah blah... but I like taking an extra special day for my hubbie and now my little man, just to tell them they are special and that I love them. We had a fun day today just spending some time together. I loved that Valentine's day fell on a Saturday this year, it was so much easier to celebrate!

We started off the day with some yummy pancakes, and of course I made a couple of little heart shaped ones for my little man. He wasn't super impressed until I tore it up and poured warm maple syrup on  it haha... But one thing about pancakes... I always have just used a box mix, which you still have to add oil or water, an egg ect. to anyway, so I just thought why not find an easy recipe from scratch? Pinterest to the rescue! This recipe was easy and quick, and you could easily put the dry ingredients together in bags for the future and then just add your milk, egg, butter and vanilla the morning you wanted to make the pancakes. It's kind of like making your own box mix without all of the unpronounceable ingredients haha! These little guys were nice and fluffy and I'm kind of wanting to eat them again right now as I think about them... mmmm...

Mom, what do I do with this?!?!

Much Betta!!! 

mmmmmm...

After breakfast we got ready and then exchanged our gifts. I don't know why, but it's just fun giving your little one small gifts, I think because they get so excited just from the smallest things like a 5 pack of Matchbox cars or a bag of M&Ms. I really have liked having a little boy, I kind of think their toys are more fun haha! Jackson absolutely loves Matchbox cars right now, and sleeps with one in each hand for his naps and nighttime. I mean seriously, all day long the kid has a car in each hand! Makes eating snacks and drinking milk kind of difficult at times! ;0) 

"Cheeeeese!!"

This little guy has my heart for sure.

Yep, we reused your bag, Grandma! ;0)

Reading his new Big Book of Trucks... we read it about 15 times today I think!

After gifts, we ran a couple of errands and then ate some lunch at McAllisters. Came back home for little man to take a nap and then played that afternoon at home. Jacob, being the all-star hubbie that he is, picked up flowers for me yesterday and steaks to grill tonight! So we had a yummy steak and baked potato dinner with some corn on the cob. Jackson was really into the corn on the cob haha... 

Just sporting some shades, and of course a car in each hand, see I wasn't lying about that! Sorry it's a little blurry!

Of course we documented this... ;0)

Once we finished dinner, we played outside in the backyard, where Jackson played his new game of starting at the back fence and waiting for us to say, "Ready, set... GO!" and then running to the back porch. It was so funny, I'm always wondering where he picks up this stuff because we definitely hadn't taught him to do that! He ran back and forth a good twenty times and then we went on a walk with Jacey. It ended up being a nice day and relaxing evening. Makes me super thankful for my little home and my little family. There are so many days when I just ponder why God has given me so much, because I just feel like I truly don't deserve it. But then I just return thanks and try to make the best of every moment, because they are so fleeting and unpromised. I hope you all enjoyed your loved ones today, Happy Valentine's Day!

New York City Vaca 2014 - Day 2 (Back Post)

We started off our morning by meeting at the rooftop restaurant of our hotel for some yummy breakfast! It was enclosed and all warm and cozy with heaters going, and nice views of the city, especially the construction right behind us haha!

Yes, we are as tired as we look hah!

First stop of our day was to the Rockefeller Center to check out some awesome views of the city! We took the elevator to the top and walked around for a little while.

On our way...

Poor baby is already out for his first nap of the day... Mommy and Daddy are excited about that though! The resistant napper sleeps!

After the Rockefeller Center, we stopped by St. Patricks Cathedral. I'm pretty sure that any time I travel, any gorgeous cathedral I want to see is always, seriously always, under construction! I love all of the architecture though, so pretty and ornate. Thankfully, we can at least see through the scaffolding! We did stop and eat lunch at a Burger place around Rockefeller Center but sadly I cannot remember the name!

We also stopped off at the Museum or Modern Art today and looked around at the neat paintings and interesting sculptures...

This was Jackson's favorite. ;0)

The Campbell Soup wall! Of course we stopped for pictures!

Always competing ;0)

I hate that this one is blurry! Bleh!

After the Museum of Modern Art, we  headed back to the hotel so our little man could grab a nap. We ate some dinner and then headed to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. P.S. I have to make a shout out to my boots here... I absolutely love these boots, and they were so perfect for the weather in New York. Warm and cozy yet water resistant! Not too bulky and really comfy for walking a lot.

Excuse the messy bed, but I love the chandelier in our room!

Little Man hated being bundled up all the time, but he was so cute! 

Just getting our child "blessed" while we were there... :0)

Can't even say how much I wish she were real!

Wat?!

For real y'all...

Yes, we did all of this in one day. I'm pretty sure our child was like, "Mom, what is going on!? What are we doing?!?!?" But he was a trooper and such a good baby all day. Horrible sleeping at night, but at least he was making the best of the daytime hah!