Kelly Times Two

Dinner last night at Hudson's on the Bend was amazing. I love that place. Happy 22nd anniversary to my sweet husband!

Tonight I thought I would be a supportive friend and visit my girlfriend, RuthAnn, at her new job as a waitress at California Pizza Kitchen. The kids and I went there for dinner tonight and we also took a friend of Lindsey's along. The food was good, the service was excellent, of course, and I was happily prepared to give my buddy a generous tip and thank her before we left the restaurant. Jokingly before she brought the bill, I told her that Corey, Lindsey's friend from school, would wash dishes in the restaurant's kitchen to pay for our meal. The joke was on me when RuthAnn delivered our check and I reached for my wallet and remembered that it was on my desk at home. I had been making reservations for our summer vacation plans and grabbed it from my purse as I was booking accommodations for July. How embarrassing. RuthAnn and I laughed about it, then she went through her apron pocket and scraped together $51 in cash to cover the ticket. She asked me what I would have done...

My friend, Adele, and I went out to lunch to celebrate her birthday on Tuesday, one day after the actual special day. She likes her big day as much as I do, and enjoys stretching out the celebration all week. On Saturday night, she's having a big party where she's rented out the entire bar, and hired a popular band, LC Rocks, to play all night long. It should be a fun night out on the town. Adele and I went to an excellent Cajun restaurant in Round Rock called Gumbo's and this photo doesn't do my incredible meal justice. My blackened chicken with shrimp and jambalaya was fantastic, and the bread and herbed butter beforehand was the absolute best. I also had a salad called the sensational salad, which lived up to its name. If you live in Austin, I highly recommend adding this restaurant to your list. Happy 38th birthday, Adele! I cannot wait to party with you this weekend! Since I detested my own face in our picture, so I cropped myself out. That's the beauty of ha...

Kelly took off from work early today and we drove to San Antonio, grabbed some dinner at Chili's, then went to the temple for a wonderful evening together, listening to Pod Quizzes on the way home. ( Gabby took this photo of us in October, by the way.) Kelly and my mom gave me flowers. I was not surprised by Kelly getting me flowers, but was blown away that Mom did. She really surprised me. They're lovely (the lilies). Thank you to both! I adore fresh flowers! Unfortunately, one of our two a/c units went out, so I got to spend more than $TWO GRAND today getting a new coil. When I complained that it wasn't my idea for a birthday gift to the worker who was installing it, he reminded me that air conditioning is a luxury and many people live their lives without any a/c at all. Okay, I'll stop complaining. I went with Longhorn Heating and Air because I'm a Longhorn fan. Paige (and her sweet little kids) stopped by to bring me the nicest note card and an adorable apron ...

Our friends (and neighbors) Chad and Adele have a toy store in Austin that opened two years ago and tonight, we celebrated with them at dinner out at Kobe Japanese Steakhouse. Happy two-year anniversary to Wonko's! (It's located near the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and Hobby Lobby on Hwy. 183, in case you're interested. Buy from our friends!) Kelly and I got the kids McDonald's for dinner while we dined on steak, shrimp, lobster, and sushi. Hunter ordered this, and I thought it looks so delish, that I conned him out of one of his pieces of sushi for one of mine, which were all the same. Our chef lit up the tower of onions for volcano of fire. The shrimp and the salmon looked so tasty on the Hibachi grill. One of my favorites is the grilled vegetables. The only thing that takes away from the feast is seeing how much oil and butter they dowse on all the food. Kelly's fillet mignon was so tender that it tasted like butter. It was the most tender steak I have su...

Adele is a wonderful lunch date--we try out different restaurants in Austin and today we went to a place called Vivo , and selected their lunch combo of a tasty verde enchilada with shredded chicken and a "puffy taco" with ground beef, not to mention quite a few chips and salsa and fresh guacamole, beforehand. Their salsa is a deep, dark red, with a chipotle, smokey full-bodied flavor. The verde sauce had a slight sweetness to it, and the overall taste was tops. It was served with brown rice, my favorite. It wasn't your everyday standard Mexican food that I was expecting. Each of us was given a long-stemmed rose at the end of the meal. The unique, Austin establishment was filled with bold and colorful, a bit eccentric, artwork with oversized paintings of women. I could do without the artwork, but the food is lovely. After lunch when we headed for the parking lot, Adele's new black Lexus was sandwiched in behind a tortilla delivery truck, blocking a few cars. There...

Adele and I enjoyed a nice lunch today in downtown Austin at the Eastside Cafe . She chose a flavorful, rich and wonderful tasting homemade artichoke manicotti with broccoli on the side. I chose a grilled salmon with coconut curry red pepper sauce and jalapeño pecan cornbread stuffing. We shared a warm ramekin of Buttermilk Pie, garnished with fresh strawberries, for dessert. It was a fantastic meal at a quaint Austin restaurant that's been around a long time, and I'm sure I'll go there again. I'll post a picture of the adorable little "just because" surprise gift Adele brought me later.

Wow! I just had the best lunch EVER today. My neighbor, Adele, took me to lunch at the Castle Hill Cafe and we ordered the exact same thing, (copied from the menu): Sage Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Gingersnap Gravy, Dried Peach Chutney, and Jalapeno -Cheddar Tamale - $ 11.95 Sage crusted pork tenderloin in a gravy made from caramelized onions, garlic, and gingersnap cookies with a smoked jalapeno puree. Served with creamy mashed potatoes, a dried peach chutney, jalapeno-cheddar tamale and sautéed green beans. All the flavors blended so well and everything complimented the other foods on the plate. It was awesome. I highly recommend this place, and this menu choice specifically. Thanks, Adele. What a treat!

Last night/tonight, depending on what time zone you're in, several friends came over to my casa to make cards and it was fun, as always. This was just an indulgent card (above) that I made for myself, but not for card camp. I also enjoyed lunch out today (Tuesday...it's after midnight so it is documented here as Wednesday as I add this post) at the hip Galaxy Cafe on West Lynn for our monthly Lunch Bunch group and was happy to meet a new friend, Cheryl, from our ward at church.

Valentines Day this year was delightful! Kelly bought this pretty card for me that was so adorable that I wanted to post it here. Hopefully nobody will think it too mushy of me to add. The front of the card with the beaded and metal embellishments must have reminded him of me from all the cards I enjoy making because he has never bought a card quite like this, which is what made his selection so unique. As you can see, it says, "My favorite moments have one beautiful detail in common--" Open the card and it says, "YOU!" I loved this valentine from my sweetheart. Our dinner party started off with Chris & Sherrie and Tom & Carol Ann picking us up, then we stopped by RuthAnn's house to get her. Her Romeo is on military duty with the Army Reserves, and we didn't want Cupid to miss her, so we took her along with us. RuthAnn wanted to see my new blouse, so that's why I'm "flashing" it. Chris and Sherrie and the rest of us are waiting for...

That's my new age! Yep! I'm forty-four today and I'm having an awesome birthday! My good friend and neighbor, Adele, who was my former walking partner all last year until the plantar fasciitis in my right foot kicked in, took me to lunch at Siena today and we enjoyed a delightful meal, plus she surprised me with some gorgeous ultra soft and beautiful pajamas from Victoria's Secret and a little spa set. What a woman! Then when she was dropping me off, I noticed my sweetheart husband had swung home to drop off flowers, a card, and a box of Millionaires chocolates for me. I love my birthday and my darling husband! It's going to be a great year. I like the sound of 44.