you need this!

i bought this meat thermometer from williams sonoma for sean for valentine's day (romantic, i know!). anyway, ever since we have started using it...our meat has turned out F.L.A.W.L.E.S.S. i mean, seriously, SO GOOD! you should definitely invest in this product. it talks to you and everything!

image from williamssonoma.com

perfect little bed.

i am convinced every little girl should have this bed! or maybe TWO little girls :)...Kelly!

love.this.bed.{image from Erin ever After}

infact, i want it for myself! (in a bigger version of course :) )

she's got it goin' on!!!

{image from kellywearstler}

Kelly Wearstler has got it goin' on. I can't get enough! I have a coffee table book of hers. I can't wait to have a house one day and pull inspiration form her! I need walls like these! HOW cool!!!
Click on the link to view more from this fabulous home!

drool.

saw this kate spade purse on a pop-up ad when sean was on the computer last night. i about fell in love. oh wait, i did fall in love.

katespade.com

it's only three.ninety.five.decimal.zero.zero. one can dream.

let's take a moment

can we please just take a moment to realize how amazing leighton meester'ss dress is in this picture? i mean come on. imagine the body you must have to pull off a dress like this!

that's THIS....both images from google

in a DRESS!! it makes me dizzy! but i think it's a killer dress all the same. well done, leighton!

shoes, i need SHOES!

sean and i have 2 weddings in austin in march, 2 weekends apart, at the EXACT SAME LOCATION! odd huh?

so i have a black strapless dress. sort of a shinier dressy, cotton. here's a pic of me wearing it. i will take the strap off for the wedding(s). it just buttons on and off so you can wear it either way.
well, since i'm posting a picture of the dress (although i don't have very good pics of it), i will share a few more from the first event i purchased it for....CAROLINA CUP!!!

this was one of my sweetest memories while living in SC. the above pic is me w/ erik show and JB, who were living in VA at the time working for KA and came down for the cup!

this pic is me and e! our tailgating spot! ok ok, enough reminiscing for the moment...I NEED SHOES FOR THIS DRESS! at the cup i wore my reefs! but i need to find some cute spring shoes! i can't find anything :( so far everything is black, brown, metallic or neutral (inluding snakeskin)! HELP ME! i need some shoes!!! i can always do the typical gold strappy's, but i want something new for spring! suggestions??

boot scootin' time!

3/20/2010...me + sean + my paw + my maw / maybe sean's maw and paw / + some razorback fans (boo) + some denton folk = travis tritt at billy bob's texas! anybody wanna join? it'll be a boot scootin' good time, i guarantee!

images via google

ready for spring dresses + flip flops!!!

i need this dress! it is so perfect for spring. i could wear it with flip flops, or heels.

anthropologie.com

oh anthropologie. why do you do this to me?! i love your store SOOO much. i think you are SO brilliant in everything you do. you inspire me by your creativity every time i come in counter with anything that you do. from the atmosphere and smell of your stores, to your brilliant mail outs and your gift card holders. you define creativity. if only i could afford you on a regular basis! i'm not sure i can hold off on this dress though!

Iconoclasts.

my parents got sean and i hooked to the sundance channel. one show in particular, iconoclasts. amazing show, check it out. they take 2 people (famous) and put them in a room together and they talk. maybe these people have never met but they have something in common through their work, etc. last night, it was stella mccartney + ed ruscha. stella, fashion designer and sir paul mccartney's daughter (cool)! ed, an american artist out of LA associated with the pop art movement. i was blown away with the way both of their minds worked. so creative.

Ruscha has pieces in the Modern, the Tate, the Pompidou, just to name a few...

images from google.

McCartney uses all organic! no leather or fur. she's incredible! i want some of her spring dresses!!!

images from google.

adventures on valentine's day!

sunday was such a great day!
pancakes and eggs for breakfast :)

we bought tickets to attend the valentine wine trail in grapevine, tx from 11-5pm!
i have done their vintage wine trail in the spring several times with girl friends, but never w/ sean.


There were 8 winery's to visit and each one had 3, 1 oz. tastings + a food sampling (some good, some terrible-but we were not there for the food, right?!). the winery's are spread out all over downtown grapevine, but all within walking distance. well sunday was FREEZING and oh so windy, but we didn't care. we refused to drive! on our walks between each winery, we would meet other people on the trail, or stop for random photos with some of the "locals".




At one point we got hungry and saw a chicago style deli! sean is from chicago, so if there is every an opportunity for an authentic chicago style dog, we are there!

(the earrings are my valentine's day gift from sean. we saw them months ago at a local gift store. everything is imported by the owners from italy. he apparently went back and got them for me :) )

after a delicious food break we continued on our way, ounce after ounce of terrible tx wine (really, not so good!). around 4:30, we came to our last winery. by this time, we were both sick of wine! haha.

earlier in the day, we had spotted another small local restaurant we had to try! so off we go! (yes, more eating!). we sat down with our signature wine glasses in hand. ordered red beans and rice and some grilled fish tacos (they were recommended to us by one of the winery's). let me just say...T E R R I B L E! the rice was completely undercooked and the fish tacos had cheese smothered all over them. i am no true food critic, but where i'm from, fish tacos SHOULD NOT have enchilada style cheese on them! in fact, i don't think they should have cheese on them at all! and i LOVE cheese! they should be fresh tasting with cabbage, cilantro, lime and a yummy sauce NOT cheese! sean and i are not complainers are not picky eaters, but this was too much. we decided we would write a note on the back side of our receipt and leave it facing up. we do and go on our merry way, vowing to never return! we get a few blocks closer to the car and realize we left our signature wine glasses from the day ON THE TABLE! too many ounces of wine will do that to you i guess. lesson of the day: if you're going to complain and then quickly run out the door, be sure to take ALL your personal belongings with you b/c you do not want to go back in! we sure didn't!!

on our way home, we spotted a bowling ally. yep, we did it! billiards and bowling and a few beers to top off our fun day!


after a few hours of recreation, and after our awful early dinner, we were hungry! or maybe i was hungry, either way :) pf chang's sounded good and it was on our way home. i called in our to go order, but by the time we hung up the phone, we were already in the parking lot. sean suggested we go in for a drink at the bar. we had one drink, but instead of grabbing our food and heading home, we ended up meeting a couple at the bar and chatting it up with them for 2 hours!! he was from columbia and she from cali. oh.my.gosh. we made it home around 10pm i think! we had a long day. from 11am to 10pm, almost 12 straight hours of pure fun :)

i love that the 'randomness' that sean and i experienced on our first date has not died in almost 4 years of dating. i love you sean, thanks for a great day and allowing me the opportunity to be random :)


what did you all do on valentine's day?
xoxo

change of plans...

the plans to go to shreveport changed the day after i wrote my last post! (figures!). my parent's were unable to make the drive from nw arkansas so sean and i decided we would hold off to go when we could all be there together! we decided to just stay in tx until the last minute! next thing we knew we were in the car driving to bentonville to spend the weekend with my mom and dad.

we arrived just in time for dinner on saturday...steak + potatoes! (my request :) ) delish! after dinner, we carried our drinks to the living room where we lit a fire (with the push of a button, ha) and listened to my dad tell us stories of my grandparents when he was growing up. i loved hearing the stories and learned a thing or two that i did not know before. i think it was midnight before we all made it to bed!

the next morning (i.e. SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!) we had blueberry pancakes and thick country style bacon, mm mm! later in the day we did bacon wrapped dove on the grill. doesn't everyone have bacon TWICE in one day?! : ) this is sean attempting to "man the grill"...


our game time food was fried catfish + french fries + hush puppies + fried okra + cole slaw + tartar sauce (i made it from scratch!) + beer = heart attack on a plate! SHEESH! but man it was good! the only thing better than that menu was the VICTORY of the saints!!!!! WHO DAT!!!

the next morning we opened our blinds to find this.....


NONE of us had checked the weather b/c they had just gotten all of this snow the week before. thank goodness it was just snow and no ice! we were able to make it home still, but we had to brave a winter storm the whole way! i was so glad we were able to go for a quick trip!

things to come.

hi!
i can't believe it's almost valentine's day! there is so much to look forward to before then :)

this weekend my great friend is coming in town with his wife for his 28th birthday! we haven't seen each other since christmas 2008, when sean and i made a quick pass through his home town to meet his little baby boy on our way to my parent's house. although i won't get to see thoven this time, i'm just happy to see my friend and have a fun night of reminiscing about our college years.

then the next weekend, my parent's will be driving down from AR to our hometown of shreveport, LA. that's right, it's MARDI GRAS TIME!!!! sean and i will drive over from FW. we will be staying with my brother, adam and hitting up some of our favorite local restaurants! saturday we will go to one of the shreveport parades and then sunday....SUPERBOWL!!!!! our Mighty Mighty Saints have made history people! they have made it to the SUPERBOWL!!! we have all decided to stick around one more night to watch the game all together! boy am i proud of being a louisiana native! it will be a tough game, peyton is one hell of a QB. just remember, WHO DAT!!!!

and THEN, it's valentine's day!!! i know it's sort of silly holiday, but for some reason it's always been one of my favorites :) i love the extra love all around and i also love a yummy meal and champagne! there is a vineyard here in grapevine, tx where they have almond champagne. i think i'm going to go pick up a bottle, or two :) we haven't decided what we're going to do yet this year. we typically cook at home, but i'm sort of feeling like going to our favorite little italian place downtown. what are your valentine's day plans? are you getting someone something special?!

lots to look forward to! i love a good fun weekend packed full of family and friends!

meet mister CATerpillar

i don't have much time b/c i am supposed to be getting ready, but i am too distracted right now!
i changed my blog name to the CATerpillar. i drew mister caterpillar myself :) i think i sometimes forget that i have a major in graphic design! anyway, i hope you like my little guy, i think he's quite handsome :))

another exciting thing today, sean is doing away with his PC and switching to a MAC!!!! i am SOOOO excited about this b/c his computer sucks so bad and makes him unhappy all the time! the only thing i'm bummed about, is that his computer is going to be way cooler than mine :) haha! j/k. YAY for the apple train!

ok ok, quick workout them jumping in the shower!

Think GREEN! (and no, not nail polish this time!)

i moved into my new apartment in early november! i love it, but for some reason i just quit with the decorating and organizing! i'm sure it's because i was torturing myself with things that i wanted but didn't need to spend the money on (still true). anyway, this weekend i am dedicating myself (and sean- :)) ) to getting this place looking complete (without breaking the bank!!). I have two closets that are fully capable of storing way more than they currently are, but things were just tossed in them back in november and...well, the doors close!

yesterday during a study break (yes, that's what this is as well, a break!), i was playing around online for some decorating ideas.

side note: sean and i recycle E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. the recycling sits in a blue trash bag on top of my washing machine. it always has b/c i have never had room for an extra trash can. it drives me nuts, but it's for a good cause so i have just learned to deal with it!

ok, back to yesterday's study break...i was on the PBteen web site and found THIS!

image from PBteen

how cute, right? i got SOOO excited thinking i had the perfect spot for it, and it's cute enough to be seen! problem: i forgot to look at the size before getting stupid excited over this silly green (or white) trash can! it's only 14.5" tall!!!! Ughhhh :(( if anyone sees anything else like this, PLEASE let me know! it's the best looking one i've seen! if only it were 10" taller! sigh, so sad.

i obviously will not solve that dilemma, but i do plan on conquering the leftover picture hanging, closet organizing, and bathroom decorating. wish me luck!

oh yea, and also this weekend...SAINTS! WHO DAT!!!!!