{party animals} an 11-11-11 wedding

and speaking of weddings...we just got back from another wonderful wedding weekend in texas! the weather was perfect, the bride looked stunning, and there was plenty of laughter {and lots of happy tears!}. there were so many sweet details, from the custom cake topper to the vintage bird houses and guest-requested playlist, plus {my favorite} the photo booth...

{weekender} state fair of texas

our friends were thoughtful enough to plan their wedding during the best month in texas - october {state fair time}!
when we finally woke up on sunday morning we headed downtown for some breakfast-corndogs and people watching on the last day of the 2011 state fair...

{party animals} a wedding in dallas

this weekend we went back to dallas to see two of our closest friends get hitched! 


it was amazing seeing all of our dallas friends again {and our out-of-town friends too}! we celebrated with the wedding party on friday night, recovered just in time for the {absolutely beautiful} wedding, made s'mores at the after party, and stayed up way past our bed time catching up with our nearest and dearest...


{and the best part is we get to do it all over again in november!}

{party animals} a wedding in mckinney

in april i told you about the bridal shower i threw for my very good friend haley. well, this saturday was her wedding day! it was absolutely lovely in every way - every last detail was thoughtfully and beautifully executed. there were so many incredible handmade and vintage touches. 
my favorite thing about it was that the couple's family and friends all took part in making it the perfect day - from the cakes {aunt} and flowers {family friend} to the pew decorations {me!} and the reception table decor {team effort}, it was all touched by someone who loves the bride and groom. it was such a joy and an honor to be a part of it all!
i wasn't able to take many pictures, so i thought i'd share some of the professional photos taken by their very talented wedding photographer...

{local love} texas wildflowers

today we walked over to the fields near my office to play in the spring wildflowers. we were certainly not the only people to have that bright idea, but it was a beautiful day and we had a fantastic time!

{weekender} fall in fredericksburg: day one

{on the road again}

it just so happens that A's family has an incredible historical home and a good amount of land in the texas hill country just outside of fredericksburg {why, yes, i am the luckiest girl in the world, thank you}. it's especially lovely in the fall, so we decided to take a half day on friday and go down for a long weekend.


naturally we grabbed lunch in west at the czech stop. {this place is absolutely a must if you ever find yourself driving between dallas and austin. the kolaches are made fresh every day by czech angels in heaven. exit 353 on I35. do it.}

after five or six hours on the road, we arrived in downtown fredericksburg. most of the shops there were closed, but we walked down main street and found a little dinner spot called hondo's. pure hill country awesomeness. specialty margaritas, great patio, live music, stuffed armadillos, et cetera {you had me at popsicle margarita}. when we were finished eating, we "got married"* at the gazebo by our table and then wandered over to check out the band playing outside at a restaurant across the street.

an hour or so later we were driving up to the house, scattering the dozen deer who had been grazing in the yard. we took a moment to admire the stars in the cold, clear night sky before heading in for the evening. we ate dessert {pumpkin kolaches from west} on the couch and watched a little television until we were ready to sleep.

*we're big nerds, in case you haven't already figured that out. specifically, love nerds. any time we see a really good wedding spot, we have a two-second ceremony and a kiss. vomit if you must. i'm not ashamed.

{weekender} fall in fredericksburg: day two

frigid weather and a noisy old windmill prevented us from getting much sleep that night, but we woke up with the sun {and the local rooster}. we drank our morning coffee and then we got all bundled up in some borrowed hunting clothes for a walk.

we explored the barns behind the house {i found some treasures to take home!}, visited the cows and turtles at the pond, and saw the various broken-down tractors and trucks that live on the property. we hiked through a huge overgrown field where A claims he used to find arrowheads and elephant bones as a kid, saw some giant ant piles, and then came upon a group of trees where three deer were grazing and playing.

after our walk, we freshened up a bit and went back into town. we ate brunch on the patio at mahaley's - sadly, we'd missed their famous breakfast tacos by about an hour, but A's burger and my sandwich were yummy and satisfying. we soaked up some sunshine and gathered our strength for an afternoon of shopping...

first stop: red. quite possibly the best store i've ever been to in my entire life. no joke. modern and vintage home furnishings, fabrics, and accessories, all merchandised so perfectly that i wanted to move in and/or cry tears of joy.

next we hit der kuchen laden to get a cup of coffee and look at all the kitchen toys we never knew we needed. we drank our coffee outside and listened to some local texas folk music.

after coffee we stepped into homestead and friends, another incredible antiques store with fantastic displays. the store goes on forever - there's an upstairs, a basement library, a courtyard and side rooms all filled with amazing treasures {and more than a few creepy ones}.

we visited some other great shops, like house.wine {wine bar + home decor? yes please!} and something different II {eclectic home furnishings and accessories}. but my all time favorite may be dooley's five and dime. it's pure junk, all of it, but it's the most fun ever!

worn out from our day of shopping, we picked the closest pizza place and ordered a pie to go. we sat at the bar in the charming courtyard and drank a glass of fredericksburg wine while we waited. of course we also checked out the game room and wrote on the chalkboard before it was time to go home.

back at the house, we scared all the deer in the yard again. we ate our pizza and watched the most recent harry potter dvd {i know, we're such party animals}. after dinner we went out into the back yard to look at the stars and listen to the sounds of the texas hill country.

{weekender} fall in fredericksburg: day three

we slept much better on our second night in fredericksburg {thankyouverymuch, heater and white noise iphone app!}. we woke up early and watched deer and cardinals in the back yard while we drank our coffee. we took our time packing up and saying goodbye to the house.

on our way out of town, we stopped in llano at cooper's {another must if you find yourself in the area}. it's an old school, nothing fancy, paper-towels-on-the-table and beans-in-a-bucket kind of place. if you don't get there before 11:30 you will be waiting for a long long time to place your order at the meat pit, but you won't be disappointed. we ate a quick bite and then headed home after our perfect hill country weekend.

{local love} state fair of texas

{howdy folks}

i don't want to hyperbolize this, but the state fair may be hands down the very best thing about texas. big tex, corny dogs, car show, baby animals, people watching, carnival rides, fried everything, pig races, weird exhibits...the list goes on and on. A and i have gone to the fair together every single year since we started dating. the foundation of our relationship was built upon our mutual love of the state fair and fletcher's corny dogs {okay that may be an exaggeration. but one year we each ate three!}. somehow we make it work, even though we will never be able to agree on which condiment is appropriate {ketchup, obviously}.

{the eternal battle}

at this point we have it down to a science:
1.  show up early
2.  fletcher's corny dogs for breakfast
3.  car show
4.  more car show
5.  baby animals
6.  shopping pavilions & midway walk
7.  petting zoo
8.  tater swirls

9.  maybe a show {frisbee dogs or pig races}
10. maybe a ride or two {if A is feeling brave}
11. exhibit hall {butter sculpture + children's art}
12. turtle pond
13. more shopping
14. funnel cake