THE SMITHS

new blog for the smiths

2010-01-03T18:40:00.000-06:00

Christmas with the Smith's

2009-12-29T13:25:00.005-06:00

Christmas started this year with the Melvins and their Misfit Christmas Eve because we couldn't leave for Houston until Christmas morning. The Melvins are awesome and we had a great time. When we got home that night we opened our Christmas gifts. I am very thankful for a great pair of slippers that are super cute and a new camera! Stu received a new 21 year bottle of scotch that tastes amazing and the correct type of glasses to drink it out of...

Mister G. and Daisy wore matching attire.

Christmas morning we started off early for Houston...sadly couldn't find an open Starbucks.

Final stop: Will and Dani's House. There we had breakfast and that much needed cup of coffee. Then we waited for Luke and Morgan to get there to open presents.

Daisy and Mister wanted in on the action, mostly because there was a lot of candy involved! Gene also stopped in to open gifts with the little ones. After gifts and lunch we went outside to enjoy the nice weather.

Luke and Morgan have adopted a duck, Lilly. Lilly lives in the small pond behind their house, but she is sort of like their pet. Lucky little duck is enjoying some tortilla this Christmas morning!

Then we took a few pictures, which the boys hated....but what is Christmas without pictures!

Mister was sad that he was locked inside the gate while everyone else was outside it.

Will, Dani, Morgan, and little Luke.

And an almost complete family picture of the smiths, we were missing Stephen and Star's little zoo.

The last stop was a visit with "Lee-La" or Mrs. Ruby Lee, Stuart's Grandma. Stuart and I had some coffee, which was yummy, and a little sweet snack (or if you are me, three brownies). Had a great time with this sweet and very funny lady.

We hope that your Christmas was awesome!
~with love,
Stuart and Nicole

some funny pup pics

2009-12-22T10:02:00.004-06:00

Daisy is a sleepy little lady.

It's always fun to dress them up and watch them...they don't like it very much.

Mister HATES when Daisy is getting any sort of love, or attention. He always goes for the ears or he pulls her extra neck fat.

And from way back when Mister was still a sweet little puppy, he has shown his true colors!

'Tis the Season

2009-12-01T12:00:00.002-06:00

to be jolly!

This is SOOOO funny. I have spent my morning being very productive, I added our faces to this and have watched it a few times. I love that Daisy has the biggest head out of the four of us. LOVE IT!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Can you believe that it's already November?

2009-11-04T09:55:00.006-06:00

We certainly find it had to believe. Halloween is over and the stores have already started decorating for Christmas and the music is playing. We are about 3 weeks away from Thanksgiving... that is crazy!

Where has the year gone?

So far the year in the Smith Household has been interesting. Within the last 10 months we have:

~ gotten a new puppy: he goes by the name of "Mister G."

~ completed the annual Smith move, this time to the 78704

~ I finished school (and finally we hung our degrees up on the wall in Stu's office)

~ we had developed a great love for french pressed coffee every morning. (I have slowly turned Stu into a coffee monster!)

~ Whole Foods had become 'our grocery store' and we love it!

~ we have passed the three year marker in marriage, and it has been such a blessing to be married to my sweet Stuart!

~ Stu's business only continues to grow :)

~ we have taken our first real vacation to San Fran and the wine country... yum

~ we had the chance to go to Turkey, to see and experience, to love on and pray for the Turks

~ we have found a home church that continues to challenge us to be better

~ Stu has been blessed to play in a band with some really great guys

This is the guys playing in Bodrum, Turkey with Umut, in September.
Kendall, Andy, Shaun, and Stuart

Andy and his wife, Anna, Kendall, Shaun, and the Smiths in Antalya, Turkey

~ I have finally found a job just down the street at West Elm, a fun and dangerous store for us

I am sure that there is more, but I can't really think of them right now.

I am excited to say that Fall has finally reached central Texas! The temperatures are no longer in the 90's and 100's but in the mid-70's. It's a beautiful thing when you can walk outside in the early morning or evening and you can (most of the time) feel the cool air slowly starting to appear. I love the fall. By the end of November or the middle of December I hope the the air is chilly. We'll see what happens, Texas weather is so odd at times and never really predictable.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies that I made last week.... really yummy!

Now it's time to gear up for the holidays, the season of the 3F's (family, friends, and good food).

~n

Happy October!

2009-10-01T09:38:00.002-05:00

Fall is slowly approaching...even though the calendar may say that it has been fall for about a week, we are starting to see and feel it. Once the temperature drops to at least 75ish I will really start to enjoy the holiday coffee drinks, the fall scented candles that have popped up everywhere and the pumpkins at the store.

I love the fall! I hope to get a pumpkin for our back door and I love to mini pumpkins for the kitchen. The best part of cooler weather....sweaters! I love sweaters and I am really excited to add a couple of new ones to my collection, a few of the ones I have right now need to be retired from circulation. Oh and closed toed flat shoes... LOVE LOVE LOVE! I have spotted a few really cute pair so far but can't really go for them yet. I am still sporting my summer flip flops, but soon... 2 to 3 weeks they too will be taken out of circulation.

I really miss seeing the trees change colors. Here they change from green to brown, there are very few golds, reds, and oranges...but that is what happens when you live somewhere with a couple of seasons... Texas just simply doesn't care if there are four calendar seasons.

~more later!
n

This week I am loving...

2009-09-29T09:26:00.002-05:00

...the rainy weather.

It may only be off and on, but right now I am sitting enjoying my morning coffee, wrangling the dogs and its cloudy with a little sprinkle every now and then.

...our comfortable bed.

The night we got back from Turkey, and the 28 hour-ish travel day we were so happy about our bed. After having slept in a few plane chairs and a few different beds we loved coming home to our 'cave'. The 'cave' is our bedroom. (There are no windows to bring in the natural light and it is about 5 degrees colder than the rest of the apartment.) Love it!

...West Elm is opening down the street tomorrow!

I will be there! Last night Stu and I went to the frozen yogurt place down the street for a sweet little treat and watched people at the West Elm store put the sign on top of the building. The store itself looks really big compared to the Houston West Elm. We also heard a rumor that they'll be giving a discount for the first few days that it'll be open (I hope so because I LOVE that place...it's a modern Crate and Barrel on a budget!).

...my crazy pups.

Even though Mister has been awaking up at 6am crying because he is ready to go outside, I love watching them 'battle' each other. Thankfully Mister decided to sleep in today until 8am! I missed their cute little faces while we were away. They are really like our children. Right now they are playing tug-a-war with a stuffed elephant, Herbert II, that has seen better days (And by that I mean all that is left of this poor elephant is his outside skin...Mister ate all of the cotton stuffing).

...opening a new bag of granola and a new toothbrush!

We're back!

2009-09-25T16:44:00.002-05:00

..and by 'back' i mean: back to blogging (.... i will really try to be better at this....) and 'back' from Turkey!

We're going to go through pictures in a little bit and we'll fill you in about the beautiful culture, the Turkish people, and God's presents there...(and the coffee & food)!

~n

Random Things I Love...

2009-07-16T18:20:00.004-05:00

There are a few odds items that make my day a little better....

I LOVE:

when I open a new toothbrush!

why? Stu thinks that this is weird, but really it's awesome! I am pretty rough when it comes to brushing, I push the bristles down hard on my teeth ( I know this is very bad for your gums...but I am sort of a perfectionist when it comes to brushing my teeth. ) So after a while all of the bristles are angled different ways and it feels funny. When that new one comes out of the package all of the bristles are straight and beautiful! Oh I love new toothbrush day in the Smith household.

opening a new package of granola.

it's fresh and crispy. Fresh granola is my Brown Cow Vanilla Non Fat Yogurt's best friend.

the smell when a candle is blown out.

Stuart thinks that this is awkward. But when you blow out one of our vanilla candles the smell that comes right after you blow the flame out is one of my favorite smells. Weird I know.

a can of Scrubbing Bubbles.

why should I 'scrubble' the bathtub if these little guys will do all of the hard work first? I know that this is not very "Green" of me, but I love the Nature's Source from Scrubbing Bubbles. This is an awesome SUSTAINABLE cleaning product that works really well... I use it everywhere! *note: Sustainable is a much better term than "Green", "Green" is over used and sort of abused.

~more to be added later!

The Month of June

2009-06-28T19:35:00.005-05:00

We are starting to get settled into our new apartment...there are still a few pictures to be hung on the walls and we are still on the hunt for an entry table that we can fix up and blend into the Smith style.

Within the last month Stu and I have celebrated our Third Wedding Anniversary. June 8th we had a great dinner at Ranch 616. It was soooo good!

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks:

Mister G. chillin' on our bed.

A box can be an entertaining toy/house for a little dog(cat).

Mister G. likes little spaces that Daisy can't fit in to...

This is where Mister and D can be found most any time... Daisy likes the sun light and Mister likes to bark at anyone that walks by.

June 8th 2009. Three Years.

Stu's gift to me.... retro velvet green chair.

And a few of my favorite pictures from June 8th 2006.

The Smiths and close friend John Weaver.

Lighting the Unity Candle

My Sweet Husband.

John Weaver and Allison Jones (now Mrs. Weaver)

The Smiths

It would not be complete without a silly face!

Married at the historical Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Miss Maddie... flower girl.

...we got to stand on the staircase...an architectural mystery...

Making it official to the State of New Mexico.

The last 3 years has been amazing and a true blessing. We are looking forward to the future. (with Daisy and Mister G.)

Blog MAKEOVER!

2009-06-16T21:53:00.002-05:00

I was bored with the old one... and Stu has been too busy to make a new banner for the top.... So, here is the work of art that I tried to make .

IT'S BRIGHT AND CHEERFUL!

The Smiths have moved....again!

2009-05-29T09:45:00.003-05:00

Hello!

Hope all is well with everyone! The Smiths have had a very busy and exciting couple of weeks. I finished a 5yr college career from Texas State University. My mom and a family friend came into town from Albuquerque and Gene drove up from Houston for the day. It is good, no, it's great to be done with school! And more importantly no more homework or textbooks!

Then.... we had to start packing up the apartment!

We we're technically hired as event coordinators {Me & Stu} and designer {Stu} for a new apartment located down the street. We started the move from 300 North Lamar to 300 South Lamar. While packing we discovered that we have more stuff then we really need. We moved out of one awesome apartment into an amazing apartment, Cole, a 2 bedroom 2 bath {it's the Aranzas} apartment. We are truly blessed to be living here.

We have almost finished unpacking at this point, but there is still lots to do, mainly in Stu's office. The pictures need to be added to the walls and then it will for sure feel like home. We went to a home improvement store last night and picked out a paint color for a kitchen island. I was very surprised when Stu picked a Martha Stewart color called Chardonnay Bottle. I love it and think that it has turned out very nice. It is sort of a yellowish retro green. Side note: We have furniture that is either black or chocolate brown. For the past three years we have loved a Restoration Hardware color called Silver Sage....but {I} have recently decided on the changing to green! {This started with a lime green tray that Stephen and Star, Stu's brother and sister-in-law, gave us this last Christmas} We are also going to be getting an area rug for our seating area and will be getting new covers for our throw pillows, all will be green. ....so our living room is mainly dark with accents of the green....

{Pictures to follow at a later date}

Finals are done....life is better!

2009-05-09T19:39:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone!

Long time no post :( Sorry Mrs. Weaver! :)

As many of you may know I have been under intense stress to finish a large load of work and studying in a very short time frame. School has ended and I have finished all of my finals. I have one presentation on Monday, but this is more of a show and tell presentation to show off my portfolio to my classmates and have the chance to see what their portfolio looks like! It'll be great to see all of the different creative solutions from everyone. After this: 5 years of my college career = complete!

So as for the update of the Smith family....

*Daisy is still fat. *Mister G. is out of control, but still adorable.

We have gotten to the point where his barking is out of control and I really think that our neighbors hate running to us when we are outside. He just wants to play with the other dogs and doesn't understand the whole leash deal. So a couple of days ago I stopped to get him a bark collar. This one was the one that makes a terrible noise when he barks...didn't work, he would just bark louder over the beeping. Today Stu and I took that one back to the store and had to buy the next one up... the shock collar. Poor little Mister G. the first time he experienced it he ran away from Daisy (we think that he thought that it was Daisy that was hurting him). He'll learn and this is the only way that he will survive in the Smith family for a long period of time. He'll have to learn just like Daisy.

But he is happy right now...he and Miss Daisy are enjoying a little bone....I thought that he deserved something special after his ordeal.

*Stu is working hard and a cutie!

*I will be a Texas State Alumni on Saturday!

My mom and family friend arrive on Wednesday night and will leave on Sunday. Gene, Stu's dad will come up on Saturday.

And the graduation gift from the Smith's to me........ A NEW MAC BOOK!! (THANKS TO STU MARSHA AND GENE!!) yeah! I was feeling like my other computer was a dinosaur for the last couple of months, it was bogged down with 3+ years of files, music, and photos. Stu is transferring files from it to a hard drive, clearing it off, cleaning it up...which is what it needed about a year ago, to help it run faster...there was simply way too much saved in its little computer brain. We are going to sell it and use the money on an upcoming vacation!! (MUCH NEEDED FOR BOTH OF US!)

*The Smith family is moving!

But not really. Let me explain... we currently live at 300 North Lamar and we are moving to 300 South Lamar. We can look out our windows and actually see the new apartment...it's odd, but awesome!! We are not looking forward to packing and moving but know that it will be amazing when we are all settled. Our apartment is on the ground floor, has a walk up back patio and is across the street from out favorite burger stand, P Terry's! The ceilings are 14 ft high, almost floor to ceiling windows, very open. 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, one of course will be Stu's office. and the guest bathroom with also double as the dogs' room, or "house" as we Smiths refer to it.

*Stu and I have finished our work with CARES.

We have decided that it is time to move on. We are grateful for CARES and what is had allowed us to do with schooling and business choices. We have created such wonderful friendships and have been blessed beyond what we could have ever imaged because of our involvement.

So that's a super summed up version of the last month...more to come soon!

~n

Below are pictures that broken-in the new computer's photo booth....Stu and mister g.

2009: The year of the taco.

2009-04-03T20:49:00.004-05:00

So, Nicole and I have a problem. It's quite terrible (yet delightful) and we feel like we must confess... After living in Austin for 3 years now, our diet consists of mainly Tacos. In Fact...If our weekly life is a sentence, all the words would be tacos and the punctuation would simply be P. Terry's.. In fact, this sentence would read something like this: Taco P Terrys taco taco taco pterrys

So, the obvious thing that comes with the territory of any good obsession is a creepy level of expertise. While I don't propose to be the end all, know all taco king...I can comfortably declare this year (thus far) as the YEAR OF THE TACO or the Smith Family. Such declaration merits a top five list of Austin Tacos (feel free to judge or comment).

1. Cowboy Taco - Taco Deli
Cowboy-rubbed Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Caramelized Onions, Grilled Corn, Roasted Peppers topped with Guacamole & Queso Fresco

2. The Democrat - Torchy's Tacos
shredded beef barbacoa and onions topped Off with fresh avocado, queso fresco, cilantro and a wedge of lime served on a corn tortilla with our green sauce.

3. Picadillo Taco - El Chilito
Simmered ground beef and potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce.

4. Ranch Hand - Torchy's Tacos
Tender strips of beef fajita over scrambled eggs And topped off with cheese. Served on a flour Tortilla with our spicy Diablo sauce

5. Migas - Enchiladas y Mas
Not technically a taco till you put in the effort. But, the best version of migas in the city. Don't believe me? They won best migas in the Austin Chronicle pole in 94' and 03. Talk about longevity.

This always makes my day a little more awesome!

2009-04-01T11:07:00.003-05:00

I love the Wizard of Oz ... so this is awesome... it comes on every night while we are watching Jay Leno... and I see along with it. (I own the Wizard of Oz soundtrack and often sing the songs to Stu... I am sure he really enjoys that!)

Happy April!

2009-04-01T10:25:00.004-05:00

Last year on Easter morning our friends Chris and Erin Hecker had their little girl Eloise.... and Miss Eloise is now one. Last Saturday Stu and I attended her first birthday.

Have you ever been to a one year old's birthday party and had a cocktail? I hadn't either...that is until now. Cake and cocktails....yum!

Me and Erin

The sweet(and tasty) little cake that Erin made for her little birthday girl

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELOISE!

In other news...

Stu and I were happy to see the Weavers on Saturday after the b-day party in Austin!

Allison was running the Capitol 10k on Sunday and they made a weekend of the event. We had some yummy food and were able to catch up... we love the Weavers and are happy when we get the chance to visit with them...it's always few and far between.

Stu's mom is about to get on a plane on the other side of the world... she's coming home to see the newest addition to the Smith family... Mister G.!

No not really for Mister G. but Avonlea Jane.... and Mister G. ha!

We are looking forward to her visit to Austin on Sunday though Tuesday, then she'll head back to Houston and then back to her school.

AND....

46 Days until Gradation!

and only 41 days till freedom from exams, projects and textbooks!!

Oh it'll be a beautiful thing.... but until then crazy, crazy, crazy!

Some March Travels...

2009-03-29T18:56:00.003-05:00

Near the beginning of the month we drove to Houston to meet the newest little smith... Miss Avonlea Jane!

This also happened to be Mister G.'s first trip down...Daisy on the other hand is a veteran at it!

Mister G. with his little friend...

When we arrived at the Smith household it was the normal craziness that it has grown accustom to lately... Stu and I were able to visit with Stephen, Star, and Stu's Dad, Gene. We also met sweet little Avonlea who slept pretty much the whole time that we were there... Stu and I played a little bit with Maddie, Jackson and Hope... Daisy ran around the yard... and Mister G. terrorized their dog and tiger, the kitty.

We of course did what Smiths do...drink lots of coffee in the middle of the day...

Precious little sweetheart...

That was our quick trip....there are more pictures here.

Next....

This is my last semester of college...and that means that this was my last spring break... I didn't really do much other than school work... I had decided that it was more important to me to get a head start on some of my projects that will close out the semester...better then a complete breakdown from the stress of completing them with little time to spare later... but we did take a little time out of the school work to enjoy some down time...

We headed to Fredericksburg for the afternoon...

My sweet husband...

Our first stop was at Becker Vineyards. There we tasted a couple new wines from their last harvest...sadly I was a little disappointed with the whole experience...too many people and not relaxing at all... so the next stop was the Fredericksbrug Brewery... We have always looked for the brewery but always failed... that is until now. We both had a cold beer and chatted, and because we are both people watchers, observed our neigbors...

Next stop....amazing!

The Rather Sweet Bakery is locaed next door to the brewery...so how could we not stop by and enjoy ourselves?

We split a Lemon Blueberry Muffin....oh so good!

...and we'll just say that it didn't last very long!

Then we headed home after a little window shopping and when we got home enjoyed a Smith tradition...a nap.

more later!
~n

What are you looking at?

2009-03-25T15:15:00.001-05:00

It's Spring Break!

2009-03-14T20:50:00.003-05:00

Stretch out and enjoy yourself... Spring Break has officially started!

Daisy and Mister G. are doing well... adjusting to one another little by little. Daisy is now getting more sleep during the day than she was when Mister G. first arrived, he has learned the balance of sleeping and playing.... Daisy is thankful for that!

It was sweet, last night when Stu and I were watching a movie, Daisy and G. were asleep on my legs... spooning (but Mister G. was the big spoon...AWK).

Mister G. still barks like a girl... and he is possibly creating a deep hate among the neighbors...he will bark at ALL of the dogs that he comes across when we are outside. We are going to break him of this because the most unpleasant noise leaves his sweet little body.

Mister G. is not as sweet as he looks:

He pulls my hair because he thinks that it is a toy to play tug-a-war with

He jumped up on me today and his little claw drew blood from the side of my nose... :(

He killed Daisy's friend, "Little Red" and almost ate the squeaker out of his head.

Still doesn't listen very well

and still needs to learn his name....but on a happy note: doing better with the house training!

oh, but Stu dropped him on his head yesterday!

...no wonder Mister G. is afraid of him... I would be too if Stu dropped me on my face

As for spring break.... I have plans. They may not be the wild and crazy plans that come to mind when you hear "spring break", but the coming days will be productive for the up coming months. (Two months till graduation!!) I will be correcting past work in order for it to be photographed and developed into my design portfolio.. and of course working on my last studio project.... (i sure do like those run-on sentences.... :) ha!) I hope to get stu away from work this week so that we can go to Fredericksbrug for a day...to get away from life and enjoy some yummy wine under the Texas sunshine (when it get warm of course).

We went to Houston last weekend to see little Avonlea, the newest Smith. She was so sweet... we did take a few pictures but we have yet to upload them...soon. While we were there we were able to visit with the Weavers!! John and Allison always seem to be busy when we are in town but this time everything worked out and it was GREAT to see them. We shared a little wine and watched a few you-tube videos... they are going to be in town at the end of the month, we are looking forward to that! We stayed the night at Stu's Dad's where Daisy and Mister G. played with Roscoe and the dog that lives next door. Mister G. ran all over the yard! We played a little basketball with Gene ( I was much better than Stu... and I am a girl!). Then after a little lunch we headed home... it was a nice little break from the world.

Tonight we have been sitting at our favorite little coffee shop up the street from the apartments.... yummy (chocolate covered grahams....)! I did a little bit of homework and Stu worked on some design stuff....a productive little Saturday night for the Smiths....

more later!

Meet Mister G.

2009-03-06T21:26:00.003-06:00

Please take a moment to meet the newest member of our little family.

This is Mister G.

He is a five month old Dapple Daschund from the Williamson County Animal Shelter

He barks like a girl

Loves to chew on stuff

Took over Daisy's bed and all of her toys

Loves to pull Daisy's ears and all of her neck fat

Is very interested in what you are doing

Follows Daisy around like a little shadow

Mellow for a puppy

Wants to play with every dog he sees

...and loves to play with Daisy.

Mister G. is a good dog, we love him and think that Daisy likes him for the most part....he just doesn't let her sleep that much right now.

Now we have a Daisy D. and a Mister G.

I should be studying....

2009-02-22T11:52:00.003-06:00

This is my little study buddy... she may not inspire me to actually study but she cuddles with me when I have to read some pretty boring stuff...

here is my schedule for the next couple of days:

Today: Study for Family Policy and Work on Perspective sketches for my studio project

Monday: Class from 11:00 to 12:20

Study some Biology and Family Policy a little more

Work on Elevations for Studio Project

Tuesday: Test in Biology

Test in Family Policy

Quiz in Ballet over terms (correct spelling and accents :-/ I am lucky if I can spell in English, much less French... Thankfully she is counting this as more of a practice round and next week is the real thing....)

Quiz in Biology Lab about last week's lab.

Then finish perspectives/elevations

Print out furnishing and odds and ends for a concept board

Put Together Final Concept Boards for my Presentation

Wednesday: Presentation first thing in the morning.

Class

Home for nap!

and then the next phase begins...

I am in need of a vacation... or just to be finished with the semester and have my degree....I just have to continue to tell myself that it is two months more of stressful projects and text books...

bye ... now back to the books!

Look what I can do...

2009-02-20T17:25:00.003-06:00

the end of 2008 in pictures.

2009-01-05T20:04:00.008-06:00

...sorry goes out to the handful of readers... things were a little crazy there at the end of school and then it was time for family and Christmas before you knew it. I will try and keep you a little more up to date on all the drama of school, the blessings we do not deserve, and the fat little dog we call Daisy. Here are the last photos of our 2008...

Daisy loves to sun tan outside...

This is what I spent the last days of the semester on... and it sure turned out great!

It was a senior activity center in Goliad, Tx... a real life project... about 20 projects in total were completed between the research studio this semester...the people of Goliad with collect grants and build something...maybe one of our projects!

...and from the other side of the world!

Stu's Mama!

This was her visit to Austin...and it also happens to be the day of our espresso bar event. (Side note: if you don't know already Stu and I live in an apartment complex where we plan events for residents and try to create a sense of community for people to live in.) We love coffee and think that everyone needs to experience some of the best Austin has to offer so we brought the coffee to them!

Yummy! (and pretty too!)

This is Bianca... she works in the office at the apartment... she has a dog named Daisy too...but our Daisy is fatter!

Stu with his ladies...

CHRISTMAS with THE SMITHS...(ALL the Smiths...it was craziness)!

Daisy spreading a little holiday cheer! (she is wearing a wreath maddie made of construction paper...it was on the kids Christmas tree)

Dear Santa...

2008-12-17T21:12:00.003-06:00

this is for those folks that have been asking me what I want for Christmas....

vera bradley peacock umbrella

vera bradley peacock eyeglasses case

vera bradley peacock villager

(it would be cool monogramed with NRS.... just a thought)

and the vera bradley peacock cosmetic case is super cute

james avery open loop cross .... for a necklace

i would love this charm to add to my bracelet

or this cute pair of toms...for big foot a size 10 please

or gift card to Banana Republic

or J Crew

or Gap....I really need some new clothes

or for the home.... a throw ( in chocolate truffle or neutral)

a simple one would be real simple for a year

New Experiement: T-shirt Polling

2008-12-12T11:27:00.001-06:00

a good husband...

2008-11-17T11:25:00.002-06:00

I can't be cute because I don't have a picture of Stu on me... I am at school.

we can pretend that that's Stu... just image it...Black shirt, blue jeans, blue eyes, and wavy brown hair with that little blonde spot....sweet smile....playing his guitar....sitting at his apples....

I had a birthday over the weekend that was good! I have been super busy with a project for school that has been eating up all of my extra time. Which is a very sad thing... But the semester is almost over!

So.... Saturday started off with sleep! I happily slept in till 9 and then set up for a resident breakfast of warm coffee and breakfast tacos.... on a very cold fall morning! Then Stu and I went to get a smoothie and went for a little shopping... I got a new sweater that I wore for dinner that night with my new string of pink pearls. We enjoyed a nap and a little down time before we headed out for a night on the town. At dinner we met up with some our friends and the ladies that work in the office with their husbands. A yummy blackened salmon followed by a chocolate cake and ice cream! yum. Then we went to get a few drinks with some more friends that joined us for a little downtown life... I had a great day and the best part....we slept in the next morning!

As for gifts... my hubby spoiled me! I talked him into giving me my gift early... a Vera Bradley Espresso Handbag.... super cute! I LOVE it! ...the day of, Stu went the "guitar" store and returned with beautiful pink roses... my favorite color!

And the best of all.... I did no homework on Saturday at all! NONE!

I had to return to the evilness on Sunday. I, with another girl have been working on an Activity Center/Senior Center in Goliad, TX. We have three weeks to do what feels like a semester's worth of work. Yuck! I have to build the model this week...my goal is to finish by friday... and then develop the site on saturday and sunday with all of the trees and the parking spaces.... i will be a busy little bee.... I am happy with the product so far.... hopefully it continues that way.

So, I should be in class right now.... yep! But I did so well on my exam last week that I was given an additional 7 points, bringing me up to a 97% and a day off. Other people from the class are having to retake the test right now.... glad I studied for the first one! Work smarter not harder. I am waiting till about 2:30...after a meeting with my Goliad project partner, Emily. And after CIDA leaves. They are here at the Family and Consumer Sciences building to ask the Interior Design students questions, evaluate our current and past work/projects, sit in classes.... all to determine if the Interior Design program here at Texas State is worth of being accredited. Which we all want, to graduate with an accredited interior design degree is important. They are leaving at 2:30... I will be leaving at that time too. I am skipping my last class to work on another classes work....odd right? wouldn't you skip a class to do something fun? Not study or work or build a model. Any how I am so looking forward to the semester being over....

oh, can you believe that it's already going to be Thanksgiving?

a hard worker...

2008-11-16T21:32:00.001-06:00

an angry one...

2008-11-16T17:02:00.003-06:00

Herbert Update!

2008-10-24T21:20:00.004-05:00

Daisy's beloved friend is nearing the end of his life... he will soon be buried in the kitchen trash.

It'll be a said day for the "d".

It all started with his bottom...daisy pulling the tread connecting his top half and bottom half, each day the hole grew bigger and bigger till it got to the point when Herbert's stuffing was falling out of his behind. This is when I started thinking about throwing him out. But It made us sad to think about because daisy knows herbert by name, and how can we take away her friend?

Then next daisy pulled one of his rear feet off...

...next went the other back leg and foot. Herbert stayed that way for a long time...

then last night the unthinkable...

...daisy about took his head off his body! Needless to say there were elephant guts everywhere.

I took Herbert and pulled the remaining stuffing out of his weak little body and all that remains of Herbert is his fabric skin....

Daisy still likes him. For now, things may change...

Daisy D!

2008-10-08T18:06:00.002-05:00

We love our dog a lot, she is like our child right now. Here is a couple of pictures from yesterday when we stopped to take a break from the stresses of the day. Daisy sleeps a lot of the day, if not most of the day... she yawned when Stu was trying to get her to put her ears up so that he could take a picture.... this is what the outcome was instead. Which is a lot funnier and it looks like she is ready to attack Stuart!

fall is here

2008-10-04T19:13:00.005-05:00

ok....maybe it doesn't feel like fall yet, but it's coming....

I love the cold weather seasons, maybe because I was a november baby or because I am from NM... where the highs have been in the 60's and the 70's ( some even in the 50's ) lately. I love watching the trees change colors and seeing pumpkins at the store and the smells of fall are great too! One of the reasons that I love fall may have to do with my love for sweaters and jackets and fall clothes. What girl doesn't love a new sweater and a beautiful brown handbag?? Certainly this girl does! I love to dress in layers and feel the cold on my cheeks...it may sound weird to some, but it is what I love about the fall and the love that it brings! (and the cookies and pie!)

So I was internet window shopping today while I should have been doing some studying, but with fall coming I wanted to see of the cute sweaters of the season!! Here are some of the cute things that I found.... most are from Macy's, Kohl's and Target... because I am girl on a budget and why look at the things that I can never spend the money on...

Okay, so the first item: simple pearl stud earrings. I would love a pair of these...maybe for my birthday.... I love the simple look of the pearl and what better way to wear it than with a richly colored sweater! I think that I would get the most wear out of the white ones, but I am a pink girl.... oh! but then I found this chocolate pearl earring and what girl wouldn't look great in a pair of chocolate pearls?? I think that they are amazing!

Beautiful I'll take 'em!

continuing at the feet.... a fall flavored pair of Toms Shoes. not only cute but great for someone else. For every pair of shoes that you buy, the company will give another pair of shoes to a child that is in need of a pair. pretty neat!

And these would look so cute with a pair of jeans and a warm sweater!

VERA BRADLEY!!! One of my many loves! This is the one handbag that has been calling my name for the last few months. don't you think it's pretty? Beautiful chocolate brown (would look stunning with the chocolate pearls right?) This is what I want for my b-day... Vera Bradley is awesome!!

Sweaters... the colors of fall...LOVE!

And look at this coat! ...would be awesome with a pair of jeans and a simple button down ...and of course the vera bradley chocolate handbag!

Love, love, love, love! now we just need the cold weather....

soon!

... daisy and some other pictures....

2008-09-26T21:54:00.004-05:00

I have not been blogging..... sorry.

I have been busy with school and all of the work associated with it...

Here is a link to our .me account... this is an idea of what we have been up to lately...and a few from the last few months....

more later!

What a crazy day!

2008-08-20T21:58:00.003-05:00

This evening both Stu and I are very tired. It has been a busy day full of trains and news interviews and resident care.

The train derailment was sort of weird, mostly because when I saw it happening I didn't think that it was real. I think that it was mostly that way because Stu has said time and time again that he thought that it would happen.

So here is how the morning started:

Stu and I ate our vanilla yogurt and granola while watching a little Pink Panther cartoon. He then decided to start his day and "go to work" (which is in the other room of the apartment). I then grabbed the computer and started checking email and what not. As I was doing this I knew that I needed to take Daisy out for the morning but still proceeded at the email checking. As the normal sounds of the morning train approached I noticed that it was a little odd, very different. I looked out the window next to me and couldn't believe what I was seeing. There was one car of the train that was moving perpendicular to the tracks. As the car and the cloud of dust traveled on top of the sidewalk I yelled at Stu in the other room. We both jumped up to the window only to realize that the train had derailed and was feet away from the apartment complex! Stu ran to grab his camera and I ran to the next window to see more. As the train was stopping, the perpendicular car was no longer moving, but the car directly behind it was now coming off of the tracks toward the Amtrak Station (on the other side of the tracks). I then grabbed a pair of jeans (because I was wearing my pjs) and ran as fast as I could to the leasing office. Stu went the other direction with his camera and was on the phone with 911. When I got to the office I told the person on staff that the train had derailed! The morning continued for a couple of hours with pictures and news interviews. I was one of the only people that saw the derailment from this side of the tracks, while the other side was viewed by many people at the Station waiting for the Amtrak.

So the picture above with the new crews interviewing:

The original plan was that Stu was going to do the interview with me, but as the news crews were wiring me up Stu quietly backed away. :( But as I started answering their questions I discovered that I was okay and it wasn't that bad. (I hated how they all kept asking the same questions, I had just answered it. (I think it was because there were like 5 cameras and they all wanted to have me look at their camera when I told my eye witness account.

Then after I had a shower I ran to get some cupcakes for the office. While I was out I grabbed a Union Pacific model train and a short set of tracks. On a display dish in the office I set out cupcakes for people and residents that went in the office. ( On the display I set the track and placed the model train on top of the tracks. Later Stu "derailed" the model train.) It was a way to help people relax about the whole situation, after all we are trying to take care of the residents, and it was a stressful morning.

So all in all, we are very thankful that nobody was hurt and there appears to be only surface damage. ( a few up rooted trees, a broken window, damaged sidewalk...) the main apartments that were affected aren't any one's home yet. God was watching out this morning. This could have been very bad, if it had been a full rail car or if it had derailed any sooner the car would have ended up inside the apartment building. Thankfully things were okay. I am very glad that I checked my email and didn't that Daisy out to do her morning business, her spot is the location where the train car ended up. We could have been in her little grassy corner when everything happened.

Crazy day.

I am glad that it is over.

What a Train Wreck!

2008-08-20T15:25:00.006-05:00

So, our day began with some stress...a train wreck in our backyard! Check out this story on KVUE to hear the media's take. We're certainly thankful that this wasn't as terrible as it could have been. Luckily our apartment was completely untouched, as were the majority of the other occupied units. Thanks be to God!

In light of our recent dieting, this is hilarious.

2008-08-19T21:49:00.000-05:00

Domino's Scientists Test Limits Of What Humans Will Eat

this is sad.... but we thought that it was funny

2008-08-16T18:11:00.002-05:00

Must watch.... very funny

Meet "Herbert"...

2008-08-14T22:27:00.002-05:00

Daisy has many toys to keep her busy and happy while we are away... and you must really meet "Herbert" the stuffed elephant....

This is "Herbert" Daisy loves him very much. (How do I know this you may ask... well, she knows "Herbert" by name. Yep that's right all you have to tell her is to go and find "Herbert" and she goes running only to return with the stuffed elephant in her mouth....She is very smart!)

This is Daisy eating "Herbert's" Face... She may not show her affection in nice ways.... but I known that it is there...

This is "Herbert" after he has been beat and thrown all about.... Daisy loves her elephant friend....

That's Daisy's friend "Herbert"

A busy week...

2008-08-12T20:56:00.003-05:00

A little Starbucks with MBS

MBS

Luke and Hope

Sweet Little Hope

Taft Street

Good Evening,

As I sit in my favorite place in our apartment, I am uploading some of the pictures from the weekend. (when they are finished they will be located above this little non-sense chit-chat.)

So where do I start? Well, the weekend started off on a very bad foot.....Stu and I went to a concert with one of our friends, and halfway through the concert I ended up opening my eyes looking up at the lights and a crowd of people standing over me. To make a long story short, I fainted and don't remember much of anything before that.... So as the doctor said we had a restful weekend so that I would start to feel better.....

We took a long weekend in Houston to visit with family and have a pool party/dinner before Stu's Mama left to Saudi Arabia on Sunday. We had a very good time getting to see and visit with everyone, I thought that it felt like a holiday because the Smith's are all very busy people and we just don't really see each other that often. It was a great dinner thanks to Stephen and Star..... I have decided that Hope is the sweetest little thing ever!

I thought that the weekend was a great family time... and Marsha is overseas right now getting settled into her apartment. She has been emailing back and forth with everyone here....

Stu also played with Robbie Seay at Taft Street this Sunday morning, which was a nice change...

Then tonight we just had a baby shower for April Mueller, with the ladies from church.... which was very nice. Annie and the other ladies did a great job. I like it a lot how it wasn't structured at all, we ate and we all visited with each other. Stu was nice enough to allow our home to be the host apartment, and he went to go and play guitar with some friend down south for a couple of hours. So nice of him.

I am really thankful for such a sweet and loving husband... he is more then I deserve. I love my Stuie!

-n

Cookie goodness at the bottom of my cup!

2008-07-30T21:09:00.003-05:00

Hello All!

And by all I mean our moms and jenni! I think sometimes that we have a blog just to keep the moms up to date....anyhow....

...we are enjoying a lovely summer night, or at least me and Daisy are. Stu on the other hand is doing homework...gross!

Stu made what I am loving as a post dinner treat, a cappuccino. But the one thing that made it amazing was a cookie from Whole Foods. We made salads for dinner and Stu was getting bored with the salad dressing that we had to choose from, so we walked across the street to Whole Foods (which is still so weird after three weeks) to get a new dressing! While walking in the terrible summer heat I decided that I wanted (or needed) a cookie! So after dinner Stu made his works of art in a mug and I dipped my cookie in the foamy delightful treat! I was then struck with sadness as I watched my cookie break off and sink to the bottom of my mug.... :( ....then it hit me! I would drink the rest of the cappuccino and at the bottom would be an even better double fudge cookie!! And as I happily reached the bottom I was greeted by a little piece of heaven! Next time I'll throw the whole cookie in there.....that's how good it was!

So being that Stu and I have started Apartment Life at a new location we are starting fresh. We have this little letter thingy that go out to the residents that talk about who we are and what we do as a "CARES Team". Well, we were asked to either provide a new picture or have the old picture reprinted. Stu and I decided that we would send a new picture being that the other one was over a year old. (and I think Stu wanted to play with his camera...and we don't have any good recent pictures of the two of us) So we took a few pictures with his fancy little camera in between dinner and my cookie goodness. Here are a few of our favorites!!

This is the one that was sent to be printed....

...isn't he cute!

...Kissy face...

...Serious face...

and fatty "D"

~nicole

bad bloggers

2008-07-24T22:29:00.002-05:00

So we're bad bloggers....

After having moved, finished my internship, Stu starting some final classes and working we have developed the non blogging attitude. I have had the intention of blogging and sharing part of our crazy lives with you but when I don't have any pictures I tend to move away from the decision to actually write something down. But I intend to get some of our pictures up soon....I just have to get them from Stuie's fancy little camera.

We have almost finished our move to downtown and have decided that we are loving the almost-hippie lifestyle of Austin. One of our favorite things to do is to walk across the street to Whole Foods and eat some yummy food.

This evening we went to one of our favorite spots, located a few blocks away from the apartment, Cafe Medici. This is the home of the best cup of coffee in town (according to the Smiths)! When I got off of work I decided that it was a cappuccino sort of day. Those cloudy, rainy days require either an awesome cup of coffee or a nap... coffee was the better choice this time around.

Stu and I are trying to finishing making our new home beautiful, well all Stu is worried about right now is his office....but I am sort of excited about that too because while we enjoyed the post dinner cup of joe we talked about how Stu wants to get a new office table and move the current table to the corner and make it a Nicole workspace/proof table. I like the sound of that! Our office is big enough and we could make my workspace into a high table with a neat stool... I have lots of ideas!

I plan to get pictures of the apartment up soon....

This weekend will be a busy one....we have our first event at the new apartment and later in the day we have what will more then likely be the last event at the old apartment. I am a little sad about that because Stu and I have developed a lot of friendships with the people there...but I am also very excited about what a new community has to offer....

anyhow... I'll have more later!

~nicole

4th of July Weekend Photos

2008-07-07T00:01:00.006-05:00

This weekend was a full one to say the least. Birthday (Stu - 22) on Thursday, 4th on Friday, Packing on Saturday, Packing on Sunday and Church tonight. All the while, we've had one of our favorite house guests, Oliver Neutzling (aka: Ollie) as seen below. Daisy isn't a huge fan of Ollie (also as seen below), but we are!

The other non-dog pictures below are from our new home @ 300 N. Lamar. We were blessed enough to just be able to spend our 4th there on the new balcony and cannot believe we will soon (tuesday) be living there! The Lord is truly good to us.

this little piggy went to market...this little piggy stayed home

2008-06-22T21:46:00.002-05:00

I though a funny picture of daisy was in order....

this is her favorite spot!
Today and tomorrow I am in Dallas with Bravo Interior Design at Market. While in Dallas we are staying at a 4 diamond hotel in uptown Dallas... Hotel ZaZa

...they have theme rooms and the regular rooms are great too! The beds are comfortable and they turned down the bed and left a candy bar....crazy.

well i am off to work on some homework....

Camp Update.

2008-06-18T15:33:00.004-05:00

So, by today, June 18 the Smithband is in the middle of its second camp of 4 this summer. It's exciting times and we're loving Student Life as usual. However, I'm ready to get home to see Nicole and eat Chuys rather than camp food.

Also happening today...I got my new Live Wires custom molded in ear monitors today! Sound great! Don't get distracted by how good looking I am in the picture below. It's about the ears.

- Stu

My designs in famous places...

2008-06-10T16:03:00.006-05:00

Above is a picture of Keith Urban's band. On the far left is Brad Rice, Keith's guitarist wearing a shirt I did recently for Austin Vintage Guitars.

its been a long week...

2008-06-06T22:17:00.002-05:00

And it ends on a sour note.....

let me explain: We tend to have treats at the elevators inside our apartment buildings for our residents (this is done as a part of our apartment events/resident care). We decided that we would put chocolate chip cookies at the elevators this time and each of the 5 elevators started out with a basket.....that was until residents started taking them! I just when to go and pick them up and there are ONLY 2 LEFT!!! What? Why? It makes me not want to do that anymore! and to top it off I started to use gift bags as "baskets" in the buildings where a basket has disappeared....and someone took those too this time! I am soo mad! how rude can you be when someone has taken the time to individually wrap every cookie for you to have a treat to end your work week?

Anyhow......

This week has been a very long one for both of us. Stu is at Camp .... D and I miss him lot! I have started my summer internship with Bravo Interior Design and it has been a wonderful week! I have already done so much and have seen beautiful fabrics and amazing furniture...and rugs that could buy a house. (no really....i didn't want to walk on it!) Okay, so BID has one client who wants only the best of the best for her new home which they just bought next to the 360 bridge which can be viewed from the upstairs office. Meredith, the assistant designer at BID walked me through the house the other day (the client is still living in Chicago and has not yet moved into the house... so it wasn't weird for us to randomly walk around their house) and inside there are two area rugs that when combined are over 250 years old....and the prices are pretty much equal to their ages! (followed by a comma and 3 zeros.....and some change) It was amazing! And I get to help develop a concept for their media room. (the whole house is styled French Country) I look forward to the wonderful things that this internship will bring....there will be more to come....right now I ready for a little me time because working a full time job is hard work....

oh and D is looking a little thinner these days...

Summer-tainment

2008-05-28T09:19:00.003-05:00

So, camp season begins monday for the smithband. This means a number of things...a. great time of ministry b. great time hanging with johnny and aric c. the need for an escape from doing the design work I should be doing between sets. Thus...I made a few purchases: 1. Jim Gaffigan's Beyond the Pale 2. I am America (and so can you) - Stephen Colbert 3. Moleskine Reporter with graph paper (a little work and play).

Grad Weekend: Photo Recap

2008-05-24T13:53:00.002-05:00

with high honors

2008-05-17T23:26:00.003-05:00

Stuart is a college graduate.....sort of!

Stuart has graduated from the University of Texas, but he still has a couple of hours that he has to take care of this summer...so what does that mean? He will be official at the end of the summer!

Yesterday was a great day for the Smiths. The Smiths all traveled to Austin to see Stuart walk across the stage and hear his name called, and he graduated with high honors, not just honors!

Yeah for STU!!

Today......

Stu and I travelled to Houston because some of our friends where getting married! Yeah! Dan Thompson and Michelle Davis are now Mr. and Mrs. Dan Thompson! Stu and I went to their wedding this evening in Katy and I thought that it was beautiful! After the ceremony Stu went to a concert that he has been looking forward to for a while and I went to the reception at the Lakeside Country Club. There I was able to talk to Allison Jones who will soon be marrying her sweet John Weaver! I thought that the whole thing was great! .....And I was very surprised when I discovered that there was an open bar at a Baptist wedding! yeah for red wine!

...summer is now official for both of us

2008-05-13T09:24:00.004-05:00

This past weekend Stu and I drove to Houston and had a nice Saturday. We spent the afternoon with Gene and stopped by to visit with Lee-La (Stuart's Grandma). Then we had a great evening with Marsha. It was nice to have such a slow Saturday because Sunday was nothing like that! It was go go go, way too fast. We didn't get a chance to talk to Stephen and Star, I saw Star for a second, a quick Hello. I was able to see the Smith little ones though, I went in the morning while Stu was at sound check and we watched the end of 102 Dalmatians. After Stu played with Colin Bates we headed to Austin because Stu played at our church.

Yesterday Stu did a little design work and I went to do a little pre internship work with Bravo Interior Design. They have designed a Parade home for The 2008 Austin Parade of Homes in Lakeway, Tx. I went to this home that is listed for 3.1 Million and it was stunning! The home is 6,700 square feet. There is 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 2 powder baths, a Pool Bath, A guest house to the side, 3 car detached garage and a 1 car attached. There is a master that has a huge bath with a small bar, 4 different countertops, a spa garden tub, a shower that you step down into and it has two shower heads. Then as you walk farther into the bath room there is a full length mirror and a closet that is the size of a bedroom! with beautiful cabinetry reaching all the way to the ceiling. I really want a closet like that! Stu and I will go to their preview party on Wednesday, so that he can see the craziness....it's wild, there is a pool, a spa, and a pond with fish. I am sure that i didn't see everything, being that I was working and not sightseeing.

This week will be a busy one.

Today: Stu is at his "New Job" thingy today, Apartment Event tonight

Wednesday: Stu's got meetings, Bravo Design party

Thursday: Stu's teaching a lesson and working, then he's going to a concert with friends, Marsha get here

Friday: The rest of the Smiths arrive and Stu graduates from UT, and we'll have dinner with family and the Heckers, our best friends.

Saturday: We will be in Houston again, some of our friends are getting married in Katy, and there's a concert that Stu wants to go to.

it's a busy week....

done!

2008-05-06T18:36:00.002-05:00

the semester is over!! at least for me.... poor little Stuie still has till friday(maybe monday) :(

I am very happy that the semester is over because it was the hardest semester yet! I have learned my lesson.... don't take anything over 12 hours! it was terrible....but over :) :) :)

So I got a hair cut today, which was much needed.... but I am in the weird stage of not really knowing if I like it or not. It is sort of the same cut I always get but it is different each time. (And the hair stylist always puts lots of product in it and blow dries it so that it lays funny... so tomorrow will be the test...)

Daisy is in great need of a bath. She smells....she smells really bad. (And she's fat) So this evening Dizzle will get a bath and will smell like flowers and oatmeal(because her name states she is a flower, and her soap smells like oatmeal....

my brain no longer cares....summer has already started up stairs

2008-05-04T10:09:00.003-05:00

I have completed the hard parts of my final exams and projects for the semester. But I am having great difficultly because I have two exams remaining and I have no desire to study for them. I am trying to force myself but it is very hard. One of the reasons is because I have had a really hard semester and all the hard parts are over, all that is left is a test over 4 chapters of public speaking and a 50 multiple choice question exam over the semester of philosophy, otherwise known as nonsense! I hate that class and think that it was a complete waste of my time and money, why it is a university requirement I don't understand. I found it very hard to listen to people talk about whether a table was actually there and the whole last part, about how God could exist in the world when evil existed as well. All of the reasoning was ridiculous! So I have no desire to study about it. I thought that it was funny, the last essay exam I did for that class was about the argument from evil and the existence of God. I got the highest grade on that one that any of the other exams and it was the most ridiculous content that I had ever put on paper. I thought about adding a little note at the bottom that stated that the above information was not the views or beliefs of the author of the paper...that's how absurd it was! But I didn't, not knowing what the Professor would think and how that might be factored into the grade of the paper. I think that the last sentence summed up my feelings toward the subject. (it basically said that the problem or issue of evil and God existing in the same place would never be answered because everyone has their own beliefs on the matter and it would always be questioned because it is easier for people to question rather than believe...)

So I sit at Oakville, and enjoy a cup of coffee and a yummy waffle trying to study but here I am writing this instead. Well I guess I 'll head out and work a little more. I am certainly looking forward to Tuesday afternoon... that's when I plan to be finished with the semester....and it will actually be summer for real.

I have really be thinking about how much I want to read a book for pleasure when the semester ends. One being that Stu will still have about a week of finals and projects even after I am finished so I need to find something to keep me out of his hair so he can work without me bugging him. Books I am thinking about: Pride and Prejudice (I have never read it) or Loving Frank. Any others you would like to recommend?

Talk to you later!

I'm BIG in Canada (speaking in a purely culinary sense)

2008-04-29T21:42:00.003-05:00

My friend Taylor is on tour in Canada currently and was kind enough to recognize my past life as chef at Earl's Restaurant.

sick of school

2008-04-19T20:40:00.002-05:00

I am really ready to finish the semester! I feel like all that I have been doing is working on projects and studying. Yesterday I got home from my residential construction lab on a good note and found Stu at Oakville Grocery with some of the neighbors. We ordered a nice cold beer and some turkey burgers and fries, which tasted delicious! Then we decided that we weren't going to do homework, but take a night off for mental reasons, so we rented Juno.

I have been working on a speech for one of my classes on different ways that people can be "green" by making simple lifestyle changes. I found a book for some of my research that was adorable! Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style. It is a witty and fun book. I recommend it! I ended up reading the whole book.

Well I guess that I'll go back to slaving away for the name of learning! Not what I want to do, but I will be responsible.

End of the week.

2008-04-18T15:17:00.003-05:00

My life this week has been like this: Phone calls, emails, sporadic email problems, assignments, group work, fiesta for apartment life, spanish tests, meeting with magazine editors, meetings with printers, meetings at church and website/design proposals. And, at the end of this week, the always unwelcome expense of an oil change. But, God is good and I discovered a place called Primo 360 next door to my carwash. Amazingly, they serve one of my favorite brews, Peroni. Thus, I get to relax after a long week of craziness. Next, on to Houston to play with Colin Bates. Cheers!

short and bossy

2008-04-13T12:44:00.003-05:00

Daisy is like our child, I know that she is only a dog but that is how much we (or I ) love her. But this morning she was a little demanding. When Stu is gone, Daisy is bad sometimes, because she knows that I don't get as mad at her as Stu will. So this is what happened: This morning when I woke up she jumped on the bed to say good morning in her dog way. When I didn't follow her when she jumped off she stood next the the bed and look at me.... then she barked at me! It was like she was yelling at me to get out of bed...She did this the last time Stu was gone too. She is getting mean!

I will be stopping by few and far between for the rest of the month (sorry). But school is in the crazy mode and I have piles of work to finish and projects to complete, not to mention lots of tests to study for.... so pray for me and Stu, the paper could be flying in a couple of weeks when we are fueled by coffee and sleep deprived. We both have more then we can handle on our plates right now.....

chocolate for breakfast

2008-04-06T11:57:00.003-05:00

Hello all,

Sorry that it has been so long, I'll just sum it up by saying that this past week has been a terrible school week that has been emotionally draining. (I wont go into detail, because it is really bad). Anyhow, Stu and I are counting the days till the semester is over because we really need it to be over! Things are simply busy busy busy! (and no fun what so ever!)

... so Stu and I have started a little tradition since we have moved to the Domain... we get up on the weekends and have breakfast at Oakville Grocery, which happens to be across the street from our apartment building. I am currently sitting there. I had my morning cup of coffee and weekend waffle(with strawberries and homemade vanilla syrup), and it was awesome as always. But today is different in a couple of different ways. One is that Stu is in Houston and has already played at HFBC with Colin Bates, so I continue our tradition by myself. And the second thing is that once I finished my yummy waffle, they brought me a truffle! I am for course not turning it down, even though I just finished my breakfast! And what a great truffle it was! Many of you may not know but chocolate for breakfast is not a weird thing for me, it happens often because I LOVE chocolate!

...maybe someone knew that I had a bad week, or I look like I needed that piece of chocolate!

.... okay that was weird too.... someone just took my picture and I am not sure that I am okay with that! (I am sitting outside of Oakville on their patio and these people are taking pictures of the mall, yes we live at the mall, and they just took my picture! not very nice) I am going to end up on the internet or maybe some website.

I feel like this...

2008-04-02T13:13:00.005-05:00

Not that I have a personal problem that needs a doctor's visit (see above)...I do however feel that my wednesday is characterized by what that must feel like on an emotional level. After returning home this morning at 1am after a good four days of playing in Houston and Dallas with Roger Cullens and Smithband...I squeeze in 6 hours of sleep and then start my 9am-6pm school day. So, Needless to say...I'm quite exhausted. If anyone has some sleep they can donate...let me know. - STU

is "awesomeness" a word?

2008-03-29T23:34:00.006-05:00

Sorry that it's upside down....I rotated it but when it imports, it keeps flipping over...anyhow that's how homework makes me feel.... Overwhelmed!

"D"

...well Stu and I had sort of a date night yesterday... we were lucky enough to be added to the guest list to the Caedmon's Call concert, thanks to Aric (he plays bass in Smithband). And if awesomeness is a real word, that is the best way to describe it. We had a great time and heard wonderful music from them. Derek Webb and Andrew Osenga played some of their stuff too, both of which are incredible. The show was over 3 hours and we had a fabulous time. Thanks to Aric again!

We later ended the night with a little homework which is sort of sad because it was friday night after all and we both had had a long day of school and stress. Stu was almost late for a test and I had great difficulty in residential construction when my TA told my and my lab partner how to do something the wrong way!

So here's what happened.... We were in-charge of two walls for our groups structure. we cut all of the lumber and had put one of the walls together. (after asking the TA a question about the studs and where they needed to be placed. He told us that there needed to be a 3inch over hang and then place the stud at 16 inches on center. Well we did that and our group later told us that it was not a 3 inch, but a 3 1/2 inch over hang...) so with our 3 and not 3 1/2 inch over hang, it made it so that our studs were 1/2 off! Gross! So we had a great time taking that wall apart and I have to say that it was terrible because the nails were in there with a nail gun! It was no fun and hard because I don't have that much arm strength and not so graceful with a hammer and crowbar.

Anyhow, back the the friday night studying.... we started taking pictures of Daisy, which is usually what happens when we are looking for reasons not to study....and they were pretty funny!

-good night

Eloise Anne Hecker

2008-03-25T22:19:00.003-05:00

Some of our best friends had a wonderful surprise Easter morning. Chris and Erin Hecker had their baby and it's a girl! She is so sweet and has really long feet! Chris called Stu very earlier on Easter morning to share this wonderful news with us and we are so excited for them and their little Eloise Anne!!

this was one of the pictures that they sent out to family and friends

We stopped by the hospital on our way to our Easter service to congratulate the new mom and dad and welcome the sweet little girl. She's tiny!

The Easter Bunny blessed the Heckers!

power tools and a paint brush

2008-03-22T16:08:00.005-05:00

so...I never thought that I would be use power tools ever! Well, one of my classes right now has completely set me apart from most ladies my age. Interior Design seems to be a very girlie career choice but I now think otherwise. In residential construction I sit in a class full of guys and only about 10 percent girls. In there we have learned about the steps required to pour a concrete slab, how to complete an estimate for any sort of construction job, and then yesterday I was in the construction lab handling 2x4's and power tools. I learned how to use the nail gun, actually two different ones, a framing gun and a rough framing gun, and then two different sort of hand saws. All of which were pretty scary because I want to keep all of my fingers. Anyway, I think that it is crazy. I think that you could say that an Interior Design degree is a well rounded one....

....randomness of a school day....

2008-03-18T11:33:00.004-05:00

I have decided that I don't like when it rains and I have to walk around campus. The buildings that I go to and from are on completely different ends of the school(and up and down lots of stairs). It is hard not to get wet, even when you have an umbrella.

Stu and I have a great love for Chick Fil A. It's yummy. But I had a little time to kill today so I decided to head down to the student union and eat a little Chick Fil A among the student population, instead of eating my PB&J in one of my studio classes. I was very disappointed when I found a seat and started eating. I was aware that the Chick Fil A on campus was different than the regular one, but still very disappointed when I figured out that the difference is that they don't use peanut oil. :( That just proves to me once more that the regular Chick Fil A is awesome!

I know that Stu and I are sort of grown up and mentally older than our actual age, but I amazed every time I sit with the typical college student population surrounding me, jut how much that is true. It's crazy and I am glad that I was able to bypass that stage, the typical college student stage of life. It always sounds like its going to be the end of the world for them or something.

Well, I am putting off my studying, so I am off!

fabrics and delight!

2008-03-16T23:50:00.002-05:00

I have just accepted a summer internship with Bravo Interior Design

I get to help create beautiful spaces like this! And hopefully if things work out, it could be a job after the internship is over. I am very blessed to get this, I had an interview last week and the girls in the office said that I seemed like the right person! Thanks to Will (Stu's brother) and his friend Chris. David Bravo, the owner of Bravo Interior Design is said to be the best in the city. I'm excited!

spring break

2008-03-15T22:55:00.005-05:00

Hanging out after some coffee at Taft Street

Picking the nose of the Blue Bell Cow at the Blue Bell Factory in Brenham on the way home

Deliciousness

Stu and I have been soooo busy this semester with school, work, CARES, and life in general that we decided when spring break came we weren't going to do anything. That was the plan, and we sort of stuck to it...

We started the week off by sleeping in a lot and enjoying our time together. Then on Tuesday we headed down to Houston to go through Stu's stuff from his Mom's house. On the way down highway 290 we stopped on the side of the road at the Smith's old RV Park and fed Maggie the Cow some crackers over the fence, which was sad and great at the same time.

We stayed the night at Johnny and Jenni Simmons' and had a wonderful time getting to visit with them. We think that they are some of the greatest people, Jenni is so kind and sweet. Then the next day we enjoyed lunch with some of Stu's friends, right before we started the main purpose of our trip.

After that, we enjoyed dinner with Marsha, Stu's Mom. Then checked into the Intercontinental for the night. After check in we headed to HFBC to see if we could run into Stephen, Star, and the rest of the Smiths. We were really happy that we were able to sit and hang out with them because we don't get to that often. (we are usually in a rush) It was nice to talk them see how they are adjusting to the change.

On the way home the next afternoon we made a pit stop in Brenham at the Blue Bell Factory and enjoyed a cup of heavenly ice cream. Yummy!