Lately....

It has been a crazy couple of weeks! After our trip to North Carolina, I was home for 5 days then headed to Seattle for work. I love Seattle. If you have never been you should go sometime. Just make sure to go during the Summer. This was my 2nd trip there...the first time was during Hurricane Ike and that was more of a vacation. This trip was for work, but I did manage to have some fun while I was there! Chris's Aunt and Uncle live there in a beautiful house right on the water. I got to have dinner with them at their new house Tuesday night and Wednesday night I got to participate in a sail boat race on the Sound, in front of downtown Seattle. That was such a cool experience. There were over 100 sail boats racing each other with a view of downtown and the Space Needle...and it was SO cold (at least to me it was). So much fun!! I was so glad I got to spend time with Chris's family and be part of that!




I was so ready to come home by the end of the week. I feel like ever since our wedding/honeymoon we have been constantly on the go. We have barely had any time to just be home so thankfully we have quite a few weekends coming up where we get to do just that. Saturday morning I ran with my running group. We only did 2.5 miles but since I am pretty much starting over with my training and it is so miserably hot outside, that was tough. We had brunch at Empire Cafe with our good friends Kim & Chris then I spent the afternoon at Hobby Lobby, Michaels and getting a mani-pedi. Chris golfed and took our neighbor on the boat so I had time to get some house projects done. Sunday we did more house projects...hung some new shelves I bought at Hobby Lobby, updated frames with new wedding pictures and more. Hubby cooked steaks for me last night and they were the best he has ever made. YUM!

And now...it is my birthday week!! Whohoo! I am going to be 29 on Saturday. I did not want to do much for my birthday this year...did not want to go out with a big group, did not really have any special gifts I wanted, etc.. My one request was to be home with no big plans. Exciting huh? For me, YES it is!
My fave brunch spot in Houston is Backstreet Cafe (if you have not been, go!) so Chris is taking me there after my run on Saturday morning. Then we will go to dinner with my parents at Brenner's on the Bayou Saturday night. And that is literally it and I could not be more excited. =)

Happy Monday!! Hope yall have a great week!

Tasty Tuesday- Seattle Rosemary Roasted Crab Legs

Since I am in Seattle and the seafood here is amazing, I wanted to post a local recipe! A lady I am working with here this week that lives here gave me this recipe. If Chris was here with me and my hotel room had a kitchen I think I would make this tonight but it will just have to wait until this weekend..........

Seattle Rosemary Roasted Crab Legs



Ingredients:
2 whole cooked Dungeness crabs (about 2 pounds each), cleaned, portioned, shells lightly cracked, or 1-1/2 pounds king crab legs
6 to 8 long sprigs rosemary
1 large lemon, thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the crab in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and top with rosemary sprigs and lemon slices. Add the olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes, and season generously with salt and pepper. Toss with your hands to evenly coat the crab pieces with the seasonings, and arrange them in an even layer. Roast the crab until it is heated and shells are lightly browned, eight to ten minutes. Garnish with the rosemary and lemon slices.

Sounds amazing, huh??

Hello from Seattle!!

Hi Everyone!! I am so behind on blogging! EEK! I have so many things I wanted to post about over the past week and a half but things have been a little crazy. So, here is a quick update on our lives over the past couple of weeks...
We spent last weekend on the beach in North Carolina with family and had a great time! We got a lot of sun, spent a lot of time with family we don't get to see much, and ate way too much. We even got to see my Dad & Step-Mom...they were coming up to NC to see one of my sister's and it worked out for them to stop and see Chris and I for one night. We had dinner with them and spent a couple hours hanging out. It was so fun to get to see them and spend time with family. I spent a lot of time holding my sweet little nephew, Tanner. He is getting so big and I miss him so much! We got back really, really late Tuesday night ( thanks to our flight getting delayed about 20 times )so, Wednesday I was exhausted. Wednesday night was the Niki Minaj and Britney Spears concert in Houston...it was my 5th time seening Britney and this was one of the best. We went with our friends Greg & Jenny Clark and had a lot of fun. By then I was even more exhausted. So, I was really happy that we did not have any plans for a couple nights and the weekend would be spent in town. Saturday we headed to The Woodlands to spend some time with Chris's families. We hung out with his Dad & brother for awhile then spent the evening with his Mom and brothers. And somewhere in the middle of all that I went to my good friend, Vanessa's, baby shower. I got to see some of my best friends and eat some of the most delicious cake I have ever had =) Sunday we had breakfast at one of our favorite spots in Houston- Barnabys. YUM! Then we headed out to Sugarland to look at some houses and areas that we will probably eventually move to. We are probably going to put our house up for sale in the Spring of 2012 and move out to Sugarland. So, we just wanted to get an idea of what areas we liked and did not like. We pretty much narrowed it down to 2 areas...Telfair & Greatwood. We loved the areas and the houses in both. We'll see what happens in about 8 or 9 months!
And now...I am in Seattle for work for the week. This is my 2nd time to Seattle and I love it here ( at least during the Summer ). The temps are in the 60's and low 70's, there is always a breeze and there are no clouds in the sky most days. It is such a nice break from the Texas heat! Chris's uncle, aunt and cousins live here so I am going to see their new house and have dinner with them tonight and then going to watch his uncle in some sail races in downtown Seattle Thursday night! After this trip I am in town for about 4 weeks then it is off to Salt Lake City for a week... whew! It is hard to keep track of where I am sometimes...at least I am racking up Continental miles and Hilton points =)
I wish I had time to post some pictures from the past week but that will have to wait. In the meantime, here is my view- =)




So, there is a re-cap of my crazy schedule lately. I will get caught up on all the other posts when I get back in town. Have a wonderful week!!!