Quote Time

Well, I decided to take a little study break and thumb through some of my favorite quotes I have found, courtesy of Pinterest.  I thought while I was at it, I might as well share them with you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

San Antonio

I have been in Texas now for almost 5 years and still have never been to San Antonio or seen the famous Alamo.  Austin decided it was time that I see some more of Texas, so we jumped in the car and drove to San Antonio.  The first thing that struck me was how colorful the city is.  From the buildings to the sign banners to the vegetation along the Riverwalk.

There is a strong Hispanic influence throughout the city.  In fact, it was quite similar to Waco in that 80% of the restaurants served Mexican food.

However, in opting to break out of the Mexican food rut, we chose Boudro's (a Texas bistro) for lunch.  The prices were great, and I had the most delicious salad topped with seared yellow tuna, and Austin had a chicken fried steak.

Being in San Antonio, we had to see the Alamo.  It was neat because of the historical significance, but I guess I expected a little more from it.  You could walk through the entire thing in 15 minutes. 

The rest of the day was spent exploring and taking pictures (my favorite way to see a city).  

We came across a dinosaur exhibit, and let me tell you, judging from the size of their skulls, I am glad I did not live when they were around!

A boat taxi driver gave us a little tour of the river and told us some fun facts like how the Hilton Hotel (below) was built from individual rooms that came already assembled and then were stacked on each other like shipping containers.

On our way to finish up our little adventure with dinner at Fogo de Chao, I couldn't help but snap some pictures of the city at night.

I have always loved meat, so Fogo de Chao was perfect.  You pay a flat rate and then have unlimited meat for the rest of the night.  Now, this is no ordinary meat.  There were 14 different types of the most exquisite varieties that you could try from filet mignon to pork to chicken.  Waiters carried around skewers of meat, and as long as you had your card green side up, they would stop and offer you some.  On top of that, they had a salad bar filled with Brazilian specialities.  Needless to say, there was no room for dessert!

If you haven't been to San Antonio, I would definitely recommend that you visit!

Bringing in 2013 in 1920's Style

Austin's birthday just so happens to be on New Year's Eve, so we decided we might as well have a New Year's Eve/ Birthday Party all in one.  And of course, I am the queen of themed birthday parties, so there had to be a theme for this one.  After a little inspiration from the commercials for the Great Gatsby movie coming out this spring, I thought that a 1920's theme would be perfect!  Now I know how to find a costume, but I wasn't sure if everyone else would be able to come up with something to wear.  However, everyone pulled through and looked quite 1920's-esque.

In honor of birthdays and gift giving, we decided on a white elephant exchange.  The gifts were quite creative: a pineapple, a flash drive that looked like a BMW key, Sky Mall Magazine/ Southwest Peanuts/ Deck of Cards (me), a One Direction bobble head, an angry bird, New Mexico socks.  The most popular item was the pineapple until someone pointed out that you would end up sharing the pineapple with everyone.  I was happy to hold onto the BMW flash drive.

Creative Wrapping!

 

We played all sorts of board games but as the night went on, the boys, of course, got tired of their nice clothes and continued to take off layers while the girls, of course, got cold and put on more!

As the clock struck 12, the champagne toast was made and poppers and horns came out to ring in the New Year!  And lastly, we lit the candles and sang "Happy Birthday" to Austin.

Here is to a great 2013!