Weekend Surprise

Happy Monday!!

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and for my Austin friends, hope you enjoyed the weekend FULL of thunderstorms and cool weather :-), I sure did!

My weekend was orginally going to be very laid back. I got a call on Friday asking if I could watch my precious little Bananalee (Annalee) while our besties Ashley and Justin had to work an early shift, so Friday night for me ended very early since I had to be somewhere at 630am. Scott had some guy friends over and had an NBA 2k12 battle while I enjoyed some DVR shows and snugglin' with Huxley til I dosed off.

Babysitting Bananalee is one of my favorite things to do. She is literally the most chill baby ever! I love her sweet little face...

While I was babysitting, I got a phone call from Scott around 2pm saying he had some fun news and to get home as soon as possible! Hmmm this should be interesting. The whole weekend, we had been planning that Scott was going to spend the night at his Dad's place and hangout - so I was already planning on having my Saturday night consist of fun trashy TV shows, Huxley cuddle time, etc.

So I hurried on home when Justin got off work and relieved me, and Scott had a beer in his hand an a smile on his face as he had a bag packed and told me we'd be having a fun little staycation in downtown Austin at the Doubletree Guest Suites! *WHAT!?* We never get to do fun stuff like this!! So I quickly showered and threw on something cute and we were out the door!

Neither of us have been to the doubletree downtown, and I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed! The rooms were HUGE and had a full kitchen, office, living room, AND TV in the bedroom - oh and the bed was huge too! I felt like a little kid I was so friggin excited.

Happy girl right hurrr!

We also had a pretty awesome view of all of Downtown including the State Capitol. Ballla

After jumping on the bed and swooning over our awesome room, it was time for a cocktail so we headed down to the hotel bar for some vodka tonics and to figure out where we wanted to eat.

We got soo many suggestions and recommendations from friends that we ended up debating forever until we eventually just wanted somewhere on Dirty 6th that we could walk out and bar hop after, so we went to Iron Cactus.
Started the night off right...

Margarita on the Rocks & a Vegas Bomb

Funny thing - I know that I took of a picture of my food at one point so it was weird when I went to grab it this morning for the post... maybe I deleted it that night? Dunno... but I ordered the Baja Tacos (Fish Tacos with a baja sauce) and they were amazing!

We then made sure to make it to Suite 101 (a West 6th St. bar) to see one of my good girlfriends Cheyenne who was bartending... I miss her! It was fun. It was super dark so I didn't get any pics of us together, but this is the one shot I did get at the bar.

Haha, you cant really tell... but the girl behind the bar is our friend Chey, and that big shadow is a girl just dancing... I was completely amazed because she never took a break! We were there at least 20-30 minutes and not once did she stop booty-dancin. Lol!

It started raining and my great hair day turned sour with a big wavy mess. At first I pulled my hair back while we bar hopped more, but then we went into this bar that had Corn Hole AND Jenga outside - and while others were scared of the rain. I was at the point of intoxication where it was WAY too fun to play in the rain than stay dry and boring. So I challenged Scottie to a game of Corn Hole and I WON! What whaaaaaat!?

We had SO. MUCH. FUN. together! Ya know, it just makes me feel so blessed and happy that Scott thought of us and planned a much needed little staycation away from home and all the daily stresses of work, life, etc. We were truly reminded of how much we genuinely enjoy each others company and have a blast together. I love him so much!! (Sorry for the sappyness haha)

So we went to bed I'm sure around 330ish? We woke up and checked out around Noon hung over and draggin' our feet... and knew we were destined to carry on our tradition when we go DT and have the best "hungover" burger in town... at Hut's!

We enjoyed some delicious burgers, and Scottie had a craving for their malts and ordered a Strawberry Malt to-go...

With full bellies and a headache, we left excited to go home and watch movies and lay around. I was soo excited to see my little munchkin and took him for a good walk and a dip in the pool! One of Huxley's favorite thigns to do is swim in the shallow area of a pool, and even MORE than that, towel off! He makes the funniest grunt noises toweling off and when I take the towel off him, he runs right back toward it for more... super cute... we call him Scuba Hux!

Anyway, sorry for the long post/pictuer overload - but this little surprise weekend was a BLAST and I wanted to share :-). Have a GREAT Monday, friends!!

What did you do this weekend!?

Scott's 28th Birthday Bash

Happy Monday! This weekend was just as I expected: fun, exhausting, adventurous. It was Scott's birthday on Friday, Maddie's birthday on Saturday, and Father's Day on Sunday. Wowzers! I decided to split everything up into two posts.. (sorry you'll have to wait to see ziplining pictures tomorrow friends!) and today will be pics of Scott's birthday bash at Juniors. Some fun videos included :-)

Scott was extremely indecisive on where he wanted to either have dinner or a party or drinks somewhere, so this ended up being a somewhat "last minute" event. I secretly hit up all of his friends to make sure they would be there, and duhh of course they showed up! Scott was surpised thinking it was only going to be a few friends - but when you work at Dell, word of "drinks" spreads quickly and sooner than you think practically half the floor shows up! I think he had fun :)

Here is the funny vid of the dancing going on....

We even found the most Epic Mustache of the Night!!!! Scott was obsessed about getting a picture of this! This guy's expressions were priceless!

Scott showing off "his moves" to the ladies!

I was SO excited to see Mallorie who came with Dave, and they were sweet enough to give Maddie a few of his albums (which she is now mildly obsessed - I warned you Dave! A bunch of 14 yr olds are about to go crazy! haha) anyway I wish I would have gotten a picture with her! Love that girl!!

At Midnight, it was so special everyone started shouting and cheering for MADDIE who officially turned 14 and we took RedBull shots to celebrate! When the bar closed, Scott was successfully hammered and we headed home to hang out pass out.

Huxley was so happy to see daddy again and gave him some birthday love!

Oh, and I had surprised Scott by secretly re-designing our bedroom before he got home from work... I don't have a before picture cause it was hideous. We have used Scott's blue/green plaid comforter for over 5 years and I'm pretty sure he's had it since he was a senior in HS. ick!! I have been DYING for a makeover forever, so when he got home I surprised him with this:

I LOVE it! We've never had anything on our walls, night stands, or even a nice comforter, and when he walked in.... I had to fight em to get UNDER the covers it was so comfortable!! I kind of want some more decorative pillows to put a little more color on the bed, any suggestions???

I love my boys :-) Happy Birthday boo!!

Get ready for my ziplining/oasis/fathers day post tomorrow!!

Pinteresting Summer Go-To Recipes

I've been collecting some pretty delicious looking summer recipes on Pinterest and I thought that I would share with y'all some great go-to's that are super easy to make and can be eaten as appetizers for pool parties or just a summer meal for you and your boo! :-) If you aren't following me on Pinterest just yet, you should be so just click riiight HERE.

Baked Chicken & Spinach Flautas

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Recipe HERE.

I actually made these last Friday night when we did our game night with the girls & guys! I was in a huge rush and got these together in only 45 minutes including prep time! What's even better is that they were a HUGE success!! Gone very quickly, I will definitely make them again and again!

Southwestern Egg Rolls with Avocado Ranch

Recipe HERE.

We all know everyone looooves Southwestern Egg Rolls and I am dying to see how Avocado Ranch tastes! This is a great appetizer idea for any get together not only during the summer, but all year round.

Summer Beer

Recipe HERE.

Last summer I made summer beer SEVERAL times and it is always a big success! Why have to choose between liquor & beer when you can have both!? :-)

Roasted Garlic Edamame Spread

Recipe HERE.

For a healthy afternoon snack, you can't go wrong with Edamame! I actually made this edamame dip for my small group bible study about a month or two ago, and it was a big hit - everyone wanted the recipe! What a great and light way to get your munchies on and you can pair with any veggies OR pita chips and it tastes great!

Black Bean Burger Patties

Recipe HERE.

An incredibly delicious way to enjoy your summer grilling favorites without all the fat and grease! It's insane how amazing a black bean burger taste, especially with the right seasonings and the obvious toppings that are endless! I absolutely recommend this recipe as it states from the girl who made it.. "It's a home-run for a summer meal. Easy, healthy, delicious." If you read into the recipe, that is an Avocado Cream Sauce that completes the meal perfectly with a corresponding recipe for that sauce.

Grilled Veggies

Recipe & Tutorials HERE.

Grilled vegetables are just the BEST. Perfect seasonings, perfect crispiness, just great for any summer dinner! If you click the link it will take you to grea tutorials on how to perfectly cook different types of veggies, and I personally found it very useful - hope you do too!

Watermelon Sorbet

Recipe HERE.

This is such a fun and delicious treat for the summer, ones your kids will be begging to eat after a long day of playing in the sun! This blogger really puts the recipe together easily and gives great tips on how to mix it up (ie. chocolate chips or lime juice mixture - anything!). Keep yourself cool by having this healthy but yummy cold snack.

Coconut Margaritas

Recipe HERE.

You can bet as soon as I even glimpsed on this picture I had to repin! I loove Coconut, but I reeeeeally love Margaritas! What a fresh, summery drink to enjoy & super easy to make. I will definitely be making these at upcoming pool parties and get togethers.

Homemade Salsa

Recipe HERE.

This weekend I am making this salsa! A perfect combination of spicy-ness while just a chunky and delicious flavor of the tomatoes you use! I also am going to attempt my Chuy's jalapeno ranch, and I'll be sure to post and tell you how it goes this time! Last time it was really good, but almost too cilantro-y and a little too liquidy (as the chuys creamy jalapeno is much more creamy).

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So there you have it. Some summer staples & recipes to go along with. Thank you Pinterest for always having great Go-To appetizer and drink recipes for when I need them most! :-)

&& Thank you Michelle for the linkup party! Happy Hump Day!