Pioneer Woman.

I made this sandwich on Saturday night.  I got it from the Pioneer Woman's blog which I have become completely enamored with.  If you haven't read her blog yet, you should.  She cooks, she gives photography tips, she writes about her life with the Punks, Marlboro Man and Charlie on the ranch, she gives homeschooling advice, home and gardening, etc.  This lady does it all, and she's funny.  I particularly like the Pioneer Woman Cooks! section because all of her recipes are some form of comfort food and she takes amazing photos of each step.  In fact, I could just drool over her food pictures all day long.  That's why I'm so excited that her first recipe book comes out on October 27th!  It's in the same format as her blog, with funny commentary, step-by-step photos, etc.

As for the sandwich, Marlboro Man's Second Favorite Sandwich, it was pretty darn good.  How could you go wrong with lemon-pepper chicken, pepper-crusted bacon, melty cheese and some dijon mustard?   It could probably clog an artery or two, but it couldn't hurt every now and then.  I'm already excited about what I'm cooking next...

Who wants to come over for breakfast?

Goodbye Summer. Hello Fall.

Yesterday at 5:18pm EST, Summer officially ended and Fall began.  I can already feel Fall weather starting to move in as it cools to the low 80s, and though I am sad Summer is over, I'm excited for Fall and all the holidays to start!  To mark the change in seasons, I wanted to list my Top 8 highlights of summer (in no particular order).

1.  Maurine's Wedding in Birmingham, AL -- Not only did I get to see Maurine and Zach tie the knot, I got to spend the whole weekend with Fletcher and Whitney.  It was a blast!

2.  Colorado Weekend -- I got to spend a whole weekend with a bunch of good girlfriends from college (all Sigmas) at Whitney's cabin in Colorado.  We nearly froze White Water Rafting, ate lots of hamburgers and smores, drank beer and wine, and enjoyed lots of good girltime!

3.  Costa Rica -- I celebrated my 25th birthday in beautiful Arenal and Manuel Antonio with Kevin, my parents and Cameron and it was a blast!  I had been before, but never to Manuel Antonio, which was recently named one of the Sexiest Beaches in the world.  I have a ton of beautiful photos from the trip if you would like to look at more.

4.  Carla in Houston!  Carla was in town all summer working for the judge, and it was so much fun having her around...I can't wait until she graduates!

5.  Kevin in Houston!  So glad that this guy is finally in the same town as me. :)

6.  Lake Weekends with the Family -- Memorial Day Weekend, 4th of July, etc...it's always fun to be up at the lake with the family and extended family.  Having the extra pontoon boat made it even better this year, allowing those who wanted to dock and swim go in one boat, and the others tubing in the other boat.

7.  Lake Weekends with Friends -- With the new tube, good weather, and working boat, I think I spent almost every other weekend at the lake.  Lots of tubing, grilling out, coffee on the dock, floating and drinking beer, etc.  I have a ton of lake pictures, but I just added a few that weren't in my Labor Day slides...

Labor Day Weekend Revisited.

I have been wanting to put up some pictures from Labor Day Weekend, but have not had the opportunity until now.  This was such a fun and relaxing weekend and I'm so glad that almost everybody was able to come.  Next time Kevin...

Elyza, Lindsey and Kendall came up on Saturday morning and we had a great girls half of the weekend with lots of fun tubing time on the lake (with me as the Captain!), swimming, amazing Salsa chicken for dinner, Banana Walnut pancakes from scratch (see my pancake post), and 10 Things I Hate About You.  The rest of the crew (The Robbens, Matt, Jay, etc.) came up on Sunday at lunchtime and we really tore it up on the lake...I think everyone had a few bruises from the new tube!  We finished up the evening with drinking beer in the lake on our lifejackets, grilling out on the dock, and sitting outside and drinking on the dock, enjoying a gorgeous night with a full moon.  Elyza woke everybody up with Migas and breakfast tacos on Sunday morning, and Lauren even made it up to Conroe for one more day on the lake.  I'm going to miss summer...

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Boo!

Kevin and I had been in Fort Worth all weekend for Zach and Stephanie's wedding, and not only was the wedding a blast, and the accommodations delightful (thanks Carla!), but my Mother informed me on Saturday that she had bought me something while shopping.  My mother rarely surprises me with gifts anymore, so you can imagine my excitement on Sunday evening when I opened a big box from Crate and Barrel with a cupcake carrier and Halloween cupcake decorations!  You will all be getting Boo-tiful cupcakes this Halloween. :)

And speaking of cupcakes, here's a picture of mine at the wedding. :)  Take that how you will...

09.09.09

Tonight.  So You Think You Can Dance.  Season 6 Auditions.  And I'm so excited!  Now, most people tend to make fun of me for liking this show, but that's because they don't realize how legit it is.  These are AMAZING dancers.  Ballerinas, street dancers, professional ballroom dancers, contemporary dancers all try out, and then they have to dance 3-4 dances each week of all styles and genres.  Some dances with groups, most with partners, and some solo.  They show has even garnered 11 Emmy nominations for the incredible choreography it has produced.  So tune in and prepare to be entertained!

Turkish Coffee.

To celebrate having the day off, I called up Gram this morning to see if she wanted to make me breakfast.  She loves when I invite myself over, so I headed over in my PJs and was delighted to find that Evelyn was in town (my Gram's good friend from Vegas).  Evelyn is always full of stories about being a showgirl in Vegas in the days of the Rat Pack, and so it is always an entertaining visit.  They filled me with coffee, gossip, and an egg and cheese sandwich on a cinnamon raisin english muffin...don't forget the milk!  Really one of the best mornings I've had in a long time, but so is every breakfast at Gram's house.  When I was over there, I noticed the new W magazine in the living room.  Hmmm...ours hasn't come in the mail yet, maybe the subscription is expired?  I'll have to look into it...

Anyways.

When I got home, I got online to peruse the Fall Fashion shoots, as this is one of the biggest volumes of the year and Kate Moss was on the cover, which always bodes well.  Well imagine my surprise when I found Kate participating in a shoot in the very Hammam that Fletcher and I had our infamous Turkish bath in Instanbul only 3 years prior!  I watched the video of the "making of the shoot", and sure enough, it is the Cagaloglu Hammam!  For those of you who know the story (which should be everybody who reads my blog...all 3 of you), you can finally place it with a picture.  Of course, we didn't look nearly as glamorous as Kate...more like drowned rats.  Please note that if you do click on the link, there are some topless photos in the slideshow...so you may not want to do so at work.

Ahh yes...this was the podium in the middle of the room that the large Turkish woman scrubbed me from head to toe on.  The marble was so slick I was sliding across it as she scrubbed behind my ears like I was 5 years old.  Now just picture Fletcher (by the wash basin in the background of the picture) laughing hysterically at me.

Now I've tried to describe the beauty of this place many a time, but you can see in this next shot the gorgeous skylights letting the morning sun in.  We went around noon, so it was a lot sunnier in there, with rays of sunlight making patterns on the wall.

Last but not least, please notice the beautiful wash basin where the Turkish woman stripped us of our towels and left us to "Vash, vash, vash!" in our wooden sandals.  The only thing missing from this shot is the bucket of water she dumped over my head.

Now, if you're wondering why we would put ourselves through such an ordeal, the 1000 Places to See Before You Die book made me think it was one of the things I really should do before I die.  An excerpt, with some comments of how it should have read...

"Once you're shopped out, a traditional Turkish bath is just the thing to help you decompress, or shed about 5 pounds of skin while fighting a large Turkish woman for your life.  There are still more than a hundred to choose from, but the best place to take the plunge after a long and dusty day of bargaining is the Cagaloglu on Yerebatan Caddesi.  The Cagaloglu was a gift to the city in 1741 from Sultan Mahmud I, and it is believed that King Edward VII, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Franz Liszt, and Florence Nightingale have all visited its magnificient white-marble domed steam room - Tony Curtis unquestionably did and so did Kate!.  Public baths were orginally founded by the Romans, who passed the tradition on to the Byzantines and from them to the Turks and the Turks to the Hungarians who misleadingly(?) still called them Turkish baths when they were only giant heated swimming pools, deceiving tourists who would eventually go to Turkey.  Baths were a public utility because of water shortages, and provided a perfect marriage between the Koran's demand for cleanliness and the pleasure of corporal indulgence in a beautiful setting.  Although most Turkish homes (especially in the cities) have adequate plumbing today, the baths remain  a social insitution though Turkish Grandma laughed at us when she heard we were going, as she has only been a few times in her lifetime. "

Ahh...well when you read it like that, it still sounds like something you should do before you die.  Especially if you get to wear clothes like Kate.

Memory Lane - Madrid!

Apparently Whitney is jetsetting to Madrid this weekend with her mother, and I am super jealous!  I was trying to remember all the things that she needed to go and see, and so was looking at my pictures to try and get some visual clues.  I've been to Madrid several times throughout the years and I thought I would share some old photos.

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When I first studied abroad, I spent a few weeks in Italy with Elyza, Lindsey and Maurine.  I then flew to Madrid where I had a few days to myself before my program started...here was the sunset in Plaza Mayor that greeted me....

I met up with another girl in my group to travel in Portugal for a week before our program started, so this was Alexis and I's first dinner together...we look like babies!

Not too long after Fall semester started, our program took a field trip to Madrid. Here's all the crazy people I hung out with all semester at the Royal Palace...Can you spot me?

Here's all my girls that I hung out with in Spain!  From left to right, Jordy, Alexis, Me, Katie (aka Wasted Face), Bethany, Lindsay

I went back to Madrid the summer after I studied abroad in Granada, spending 7 weeks working for EMI music and taking classes with Dr. Gonzalez, who was Fabulous!  Here is Lisa and I with our crazy Senora, Mercedes.

We were the guinea pigs for this Trinity-sponsored trip and they are still doing it today...although Dr. G still says we were the best group. :)  This was a craaaaaazy night towards the end of the trip.

After graduation, I made it back to Madrid once again with Fletcher after our jaunt to Turkey and Greece.  We met up with my Mom and Cameron, and I got to show her where all the craziness happened.  The pic below was at a huge bullfight that royalty attended...

I think it's time for another trip....