And today, I give you a list.

And, now, I present to you, faithful readers. A few random things to sum up life lately...

1. House Progress. Sort of. I have refinished some old things to make them new-ish to us. And....we got a new couch, chair and coffee table! Woo-hoo! Slowly but surely making the house our home. Now, to put something up on those naked walls...

2. It's SPRING in Austin! [It's 90 degrees, so basically it's summer]. I forget how much I loooove this season. The earth comes to life again and it's so fun to be a part of.  This means, weekends are spent out in the sun, on the water, etc. Thankful to live in a place that allows us to be outside most of the year.

3. I am finishing an online photography course right now. When I upload some of my pics, ya'll better hold on to your hats!! Well, not really. But I am LOVING the course and feeling totally pumped about all that I have learned and how far I've come.

4. Yard Work. We are so lucky to have a new home with landscaping mostly done!  However, I spent some time cleaning up the beds, and putting some new little plants in there. Should I take pictures? Yes?! Oh, sure. Also with the new house came a sod yard. Who knew there were so many weeds in the world? Sweet Rob spends a few hours each weekend tending the grass and waging war on those Texas weeds. Also, Rob calls me "black thumb", due to my unluckiness in keeping previous plants alive. This is very sad for me, due to the fact that my mom is an amazing gardener. So, this year, I am determined to prove myself!

5. Working Full Time. Not that this is a new thing, but I have a whole new appreciation for people who work 40 hours/5 days a week! Seriously, it's a lot! And then to have pups and a house to care for, friends to see, hubby to spend time with... phew! I can't even fathom how people do it with kiddos, too. Truly, I feel like we work hard all week, evenings fill up, its the weekend before I know it... and BAM, the weekend is over in a blink of an eye. I'm sure it's like this for everyone, but it never ceases to amaze me how life flies by. And when I want to complain [like right now], I remember how very thankful I am that we both have great jobs and a full and blessed life.

6. Jake and Ruby are loving having a yard. Now that the weather is nice, they get to spend so much time outside. They still stay in their kennels while we work, but they are obsessed with being out in the yard when we are home. Jake still likes to come in and check periodically that we are still there, and then goes back out to join Miss Ruby. They are also obsessed with the concept of "protecting" their house and home, barking at anyone and everything that comes near their territory. It is actually ridiculous:).

7. Missing family and friends. See above point about working full time. We never seem to be able to schedule enough time away to visit our sweet family and friends. We miss everyone so much! But at the same time, loving our life and our friends here. So, we are just thankful for the amazing folks in our life, here and far away.

8. Celine Dion. Oh, you heard me. I am joining 4 of my best friends since HIGH SCHOOL in Las Vegas for a long weekend. We are going to see Celine, our obsession since the tender age of 14. We were total rebels, as you can tell (sarcasm). We have big plans to talk, shop, lay by the pool, talk, laugh, catch up, and just have the best time ever. As a single girl, I totally didn't get into "girl weekends". Now, I've been counting the days! I can't wait!!

9. Loving our new neighborhood. It seems like everyone has come out of hibernation now that it is warmer. Pretty much everyone in the neighborhood has a dog, so we all hang out at the neighborhood dog park every evening. It is so nice that our neighbors love and enjoy our dogs, rather than be annoyed by them. There was a little fight at the park the other night, and Miss Ruby ended up getting pinned down by this other dog. She is totally fine, but we had FOUR people come by the house that night to check on her. Four neighbors! Isn't that just the nicest thing??

10. Marriage. This is a little bit mushy and sweet... But really. I am so thankful for my husband. He is such a perfect compliment to me, and is so strong in the areas that I am weak. We still have soooo much to learn about life and love and marriage.... but I am thankful for how far we've come together. (Cause I'll just go ahead and say that the first year was quite a challenge). I love that we are both growing as individuals and as a couple... isn't that what life is all about?

Now that I have you all teared up, I'm going to stop writing.

Oh! One more fun thing! My friend, Erin, and I have decided that we want to start a blog together. We both are obsessed with reading blogs about fashion, design, DIY, families, dogs, etc. So we decided that between the 2 of us, we have lots of material to blog about and are so excited about our new little project! When we finally decide on a name, I'll let you know.

Much, much love from sunny Texas.
LB

So, Um, Happy New Year!?

Seriously, I feel like 2011 is just now starting. We took a small hiatus from real life with a move, the holidays and then a 2 week trip to South Africa. As wonderful as everything was, I have never been more grateful for normal, everyday life. Seriously, I'm just filled with gratitude for my husband, my home, my job, my crazy dogs, and some time to relax and enjoy it all. Not to mention, being content is one of my NY resolutions. That and getting shredded like Jillian Michaels via a home workout DVD. Just Kidding. Well, not really :)

Our South Africa trip was... ahhhh... amazing. Honestly, it was just so perfect. [Sidenote: I have come to a realization that America does not know how to do "holiday". My cousins were shocked to learn that Rob has never taken a vacation longer than a week... It is totally normal there to take a solid few weeks off of work. All this to say, taking 2 weeks away from life and work was exactly what I needed.] Throw in summer weather, breathtaking landscapes, the beach, and my wonderful family... you have a perfect vacation. It was so much fun for me to visit South Africa after 10 years and become re-aquainted with my amazing aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins. And even more fun for Rob to meet them and get to know them a little bit. It's almost like a small part of me living halfway across the world that he had never met. Not only did we love the people, but the country of South Africa is just amazing.

In 2 weeks: We froliced on Atlantic and Indian Ocean Beaches as well as played in the big waves. While driving in a navy blue VW van [kombi], we saw zebra, giraffe, elephant, bison, and all kinds of other animals. We bungee jumped from the highest bridge bungee in the world. (Truth. Can you believe that?!) We hugged the necks of 35 precious family members. We went kloofing in a pristine river that we could drink out of. We ate enough South African candy and biltong to make a normal human sick for a month. We spent some good old fashioned quality family time (all 7 of us), crammed into a van with all of our belongings. Ya'll, it was just so much fun.

Like I said, I am now just thankful to be home. And I'm ready to get on the homeowning train. It's time to work in the yard, put some things on the walls, and beg and plead with my hubby to buy some new items:). I am ready for the winter weather to pass... hurry it up, spring! I have some furniture to repaint and I refuse to do it until the sun is shining.

We are now taking appointments for visitors in the spring and summer. Hurry, before the slots are taken.

xoxo,
Lara