four.

Today is a very special day for Austin and me!  On October 14, 2009 (this day 4 years ago), Austin asked me to be his girlfriend.  Looking back, our time together has gone by so fast, but at the same time, it feels like we've been together forever.

2009: cheering on the Aggies while they played Arkansas at Cowboy's Stadium

2010: skiing in Colorado

2011: meeting Austin's family while on vacation in Ocean City, Maryland

2012: posing for a picture on the night we got engaged

Over the years we have laughed, danced, fought, been silly, kissed a little,  eaten, traveled, and kissed a little more.  In about 8 months, we are going to walk down the aisle and become "Mr. & Mrs. Harmon".  That makes me happy. 

2013

 Happy Anniversary, Austin!  I love you more and more every day!

PS- This is a picture of Austin trying on wedding rings this past weekend.  Eeep!

saying yes to the (less important) dress!

Austin was out of town a few weekends ago, so that meant one thing: it was time for me to go shopping!  I didn't just shop for fun, though.  We have something coming up that requires some new duds, so this was all business!

After being engaged for over a year, we finally booked our engagement photo shoot, and that is coming up soon.  An occasion such as this definitely calls for a new dress, but finding the perfect one was stressful!  Girls, you know what I'm talking about.  When you're shopping just to shop, it's easy to find some awesome stuff!  However, when you're looking for something specific, it can be difficult to find the perfect thing.

I usually hit up the Allen Outlets if I need clothes, but pictures that we're going to have for the rest of our lives called for a full-priced, real deal mall.  Heeeeelllllooooo Northpark!  I went to about 17 different stores, and I finally found the perfect dress.  I thought it would be fun to show you guys some of the favorites...

One of those is "the dress", but you'll have to wait until I post about the shoot to find out which one!  Here are the reasons I rejected the other four:

-Too short

-Too librarian-looking

-Too dressy

-Too expensive

We take our pictures at the end of October with our wonderful photographer, Amanda Jameson.  We're planning to go to White Rock Lake in Dallas and have three outfits in mind.  One dressy (where I'll wear one of the above dresses), one casual, and a few in Aggie colors.

I'll be back after the big day to tell you guys all of the "behind the scenes" scoop!

3 Quick and Simple Dinner Ideas

If you're anything like me, you are probably still having trouble adjusting to the new school year's schedule.  I find that by the time I get home from work I am ready to poop out on the couch and watch the episode of Ellen I recorded earlier in the afternoon.  I don't have a huge hankering to spend hours preparing a meal, and I definitely don't feel like doing a bunch of dishes after all is said and eaten.

Because of this, I've been on the hunt recently for easy dinners that come together quickly and don't require a whole bunch of clean up.  I've had a few hits and a couple of misses, so I thought I'd share the hits today!

1) Mexican Pizzas


 

This recipe comes from my go to dinner site, eatliverun.com.  Jenna has such great recipes for all occasions, but this one is perfect when you're in a time crunch.  She has you use beans, taco meat, and cheese for your pizza, but you can obviously go crazy with whatever toppings you please.  We added avacado, sour cream, and salsa to ours!

2) Pita Pizzas

Photo via MarthaStewart.com

I got the above recipe from this blog post that features 100 healthy dinner ideas.  The recipe tells you to make your own sauce, but I always just use a jar of marinara and then put whatever toppings I feel like (usually turkey pepperoni with mushrooms and onions). 

3) Turkey Taco Casserole



Photo by Jenna Beaugh

This is another hit from eatliverun. I could eat this almost every week. It's very simple to throw together, and it makes enough to feed two people for two days. Leftovers are a very good thing for busy people!

Try one of these out the next time you don't feel like cooking and cleaning all night long.  They are all delicious!!

oktoberfest in dallas

I know I sound like a total "white girl" for saying this, but I am very excited for fall!  I'm ready to wear my boots that I got for 80-90% off at the end of summer, eat all things pumpkin flavored, and step on lots of acorns and crunchy-looking leaves.

To kick off the nice, semi-fall weather we've been having around here lately, we headed to Oktoberfest in Addison on Saturday.  My sister, whose hair is the perfect shade for fall, came over after I was done with my baby ballerinas, and the three of us (Austin, Fox, and me) met up with our friend Alan and his girly friend and her sister at the fest.  

We obviously partook in your average Oktoberfest activities (beer drinking...wine for me!), but there is so much more to do at Addison Oktoberfest!  We watched the cutest little German kids do traditional German dances...

And we cheered on as some manly men conquered the "barrel race".

However, my favorite part of the afternoon was the funnel cake.  How could this bowl of deliciousness not be the best part of the day??

We went to this little festival last year and had fun, and I'm willing to bet we'll be back next year.  It's an all around good time!

We spent the rest of the weekend watching the Ags BTHO SMU and getting ready for this week (groceries, laundry, yada, yada).  I hope everyone had a nice weekend! :)

Aggies vs. Elephants

This past weekend was nuts!  My favorite team in the world played in the biggest college football game of the season, and I got to be in College Station to be a part of it!

Austin and I didn't have tickets to the game since neither of us have an extra $800 laying around, but that didn't mean we couldn't get in on some quality College Station time.  We headed down to CS on Friday night and the madness began!  We took the "safe ride" party bus (for $5!) to Northgate to visit some of our old hangouts and see how our little college city had changed since we'd been there last.  It was a really fun night.

Party bus!!

We woke up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to get our tailgate on.  It was game day, baby!!!

Gig 'em Ags!

Tailgating was, as always, a blast.  I got to see the new MSC, meet up with my mama, and experience the craziness of Aggies upon Aggies milling around campus.  We watched the game at a tailgate right outside of Kyle Field, so we could hear the cheers of celebration every time Johnny Football got the job done.

Even though the game didn't end up quite the way we wanted it to, we still had an awesome time.  It was a great game played by two extremely talented football teams.  Here's to hoping the Ags can win out and get into a really good bowl game!

catching up & a recipe!

Howdy ho neighbors!  I think I'm finally back in my normal groove, and that means the blog should be pretty much back to normal as well!  I've been very busy wrapping up my summer, starting a new school year, and getting back into my usual routine.  Here are some scenes from my life lately in case you are interested... 

(Going clockwise from the top left) Austin and me in Houston for my beautiful friend Alexa's wedding, my wedding dress shopping judging panel, one of the cuties I teach on Saturday mornings, baseball cupcakes!, dark hair don't care ;)

Thanks for sticking with me while I adjust back to my school year lifestyle...getting back into the swing of things is tough!

And because it wouldn't be a true post without some food...here's a delicious recipe that I got from my Aunt Lana.  Enjoy!!

Crock-Pot BBQ Chicken Sliders

 

Sweet Baby Ray’s Crock-Pot Chicken

4 – 6 Chicken breasts (can be frozen)

1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce

¼ C. Vinegar

1 t. Red Pepper Flakes

¼ C. Brown Sugar

1 t. Garlic Powder

Place chicken in your crock-pot while you mix the other ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Once the sauce is mixed, pour it over the chicken.  Cook everything on low for 4-6 hours.  When the chicken is ready, remove it to a bowl and shred usisng two forks.  Serve it up on a toasted bun!

debating the first look

Happy Friday, guys!!

I am sad to say that my summer is officially over as I have been in training all week, and I have more training next week.  After that, the kiddos come back, and we are in full on school mode.  Summer went by quick, but it's always nice to get back into a routine.

I'm in a very happy mood today for a few reasons: 1) Austin has been on a business trip for a few days, and he comes home this afternoon! 2) We are going to see my sister's new house tonight and have dinner! 3) Jimbo and Sherbo are coming in town! 4) I am going wedding dress shopping tomorrow!!!!!

I love how every little step of the wedding process makes it feel more and more real, and this step is a big one.  Thanks to the advice of some of my favorite facebook friends, I have an appointment at the Bridal Boutique in Lewisville tomorrow morning.  My mom, dad, and sister will be tagging along, and hopefully I'll be saying "yes to the dress" at some point tomorrow.

The idea of having my dress has got me thinking, though...

One of the million decisions that Austin and I have to make about our big day involves the ever-gaining-popularity "first look".  I have always said that there is no way I would do a first look.  I want to keep things traditional, and a first look is definitely not.  However, the more I have thought about it, talked about it, and read about other people's experiences, the more inclined I am to do one.

Here are my pros to doing a first look:
-We can take pretty much all of our pictures before the ceremony, so we can get to the reception ASAP
-It will give Austin and I a little bit of time together before we say our "I dos"
-Austin and I can actually talk the first time he sees me (you know, to tell me what he thinks of my dress, hair, make up, etc. That way I won't be wondering what he thinks during our ceremony)
-First look pictures are REALLY cute

Here are my cons:
-It's supposed to be bad luck

Obviously the pros outweigh the cons here, but I'd love for some of y'all to chime in.  What did you guys do on your wedding day?  Are you happy with your decision?

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!  Say a little prayer that I find the right dress tomorrow and that the price tag doesn't make Jimbo faint :)