Whirlwind.

Warning: it's going to be difficult to cram this weekend into one post, so here goes...

First of all, I will start by saying that I was hyped about this weekend. For so many reasons – utterly hyped. You see, this time last year I was homesick beyond belief after having learned that one of my closest friends had just gotten engaged and that all of my friends would be celebrating this joyous occasion on arguably one of the most fun weekends of the year in Dallas. It was this time last year that I decided once and for all to enjoy my time in New York, but that Texas was calling me home. That, my friends, happens to be TX v. ou weekend. Every year it seems like the build up for this enormous game gets more and more exciting and this year was no exception.

This weekend came complete with two separate Evite invitations for various festivities and I was more than eager to reply my “can’t wait!” sentiment onto each invite. First up, a family-friendly Cajun soiree on Friday night at the Mothershead household. Adrianne’s parents hosted each of us as we sat fireside and caught up on the happenings of our various lives. As we caught up, we realized that we are all just making it rain out there. Houston, Dallas, Austin...we just keep trucking along. Some of us have moved and come back, and yet, we still manage to meet up again - truly one of the best things about the weekend. We moved on to our second location for the night, along with every other 20-something in the state of Texas. We drove around practically begging various valet tenants to let us park in their specific lot, only to decided that it’s next-to-impossible to navigate this weekend when you mix trolley cars, high heels, college co-eds and Dallas residents – and just like that, let the weekend had begun. We made our way into a fantastic karaoke bar which just so happened to be the ultimate in people watching. I tried to convince the girls to sing “All I Have to Give” by the Backstreet Boys, only to get denied. You know, I’m still not even sure if they called my name or not? Anyway, we put Friday night to bed at the ripe hour of 4:30 am, only to set our alarm for for a 7 am wake up call (read: us still trying to live like college students). No rest for the weary, my friends. We had been invited to a joint tailgate on the fairgrounds for Saturday and had decided that it would be the perfect mix of game day and fair festivities – basically a blend of good old fashioned Texas fun. Bailey, Alyssa and I got a slow start to the day on Saturday only to leave our house just before 10 am, park, share a cab with strangers, and still manage to show up to the State Fair of Texas in time for the 11 am kickoff. Talent, pure talent. We pulled up some (borrowed) fold out chairs, munched on various tailgate grub and enjoyed the game from a flat screen in the back of a Tahoe. I know what it sounds like, and no...we were not filming an Alan Jackson video, just simply enjoying the game with other droopy-eyed spectators. After a failed ticket attempt, my roommate Megan joined us both for the tailgate and a day’s worth of Fair fun. We successfully rode the Ferris wheel, ate a week’s-worth of calories in fried goods (see the menu below) and shared the perfect Texas day together. Oh and...the Horns won (!!). So really, God’s country shone a little brighter this weekend...

Up next, the Mavs pre-season game against the Cavaliers! It seems pretty aggressive to spend a day at the fair, nap for almost two hours, freshen and then head to the American Airlines center for a basketball game, but what can I say? We’re just your average sports enthusiasts. The convenience of games are just too good to pass up. You get there and realize that you can sit mindlessly for a few hours and be entertained and over-stimulated on so many fronts. Sure, there’s the actual game but then there is also a plethora of crowd movement that just keeps things interesting. At one point we all realized that each of our eyes were burning and that the condition could have been attributed to several sources:

a. fatigue/exhaustion
b. the flashing lights at the basketball game
c. the smoke from the tailgate/fairgrounds
d. all of the above.

More than likely we were all suffering from pure exhaustion that culminated in a halftime show performed by a Frisbee-chasing collie dog wearing tiny tennis shoes. I kid you not, tears were rolling down our faces as we watched this animal handler in his flag tee run this dog ragged doing figure eight maneuvers on the court. I only wish that I had captured the essence of this talented dog, but unfortunately, this is one memory that will have to remain in my delirious arsenal of random weekend stories. Sorry, friends. We made a group decision to continue our day's worth of culinary mistakes on a late-night Whataburger dinner followed by a midnight viewing of The Proposal under a down blanket...see, we can always find a way to come full circle and return to being women. For the sake of brevity I will say that Sunday was spent going to church, taking Alaina and Alyssa’s puppy to the Dallas Farmer’s Market, choosing a perfect pumpkin (see below for my sweet loner shot!), a matinee movie and the Miley Cyrus Concert – you know, just your average day!

Please see below for an abundance of pics* from the weekend!

*massive apologies for my formatting issues, apparently blogger hates me...

Saturday: The State Fair of Texas

Menu:
4 - Fletcher's Corn Dogs
2 - orders of fried butter (so good!)
1 - fried s'more
1 - funnel cake
1 - fried pb&j

Eighties Beats & Super Bowl Meats

I had a great weekend and I hope that y'all did too! Friday night was relatively low-key in the digs of 2D. I made a homemade dinner (read: peanut butter and jelly sand which) after the devastating discovery of my potato having sprouts, thus forgoing my original plan of a warm baked potato.

I know, riveting.

After a failed attempt to cozy up and watch Tropic Thunder with Alyssa, I moved my party into our room and finished Happy Gilmore. They seriously don't make them like they used to. It was a perfect example of how simple humor wins every time. Anyway, I fell asleep at the bustling hour of 10:30 and knew that Saturday had to have more promise. Sure enough, I shot up at 8am and had nothing to do. So I did what every out-of-shape New Yorker does in 18° weather, I went jogging. If it appears that Hell has frozen over, I can assure you, it hasn't. However, Central Park has seemed to. I bundled up in a ragtag outfit of layered assortments and set out. My eyes were watering, my nose was running, and my body was just not moving together...I looked ridiculous. I literally made myself stay active for 45 minutes and then fled the scene. My roomies were still sleeping soundly, so I decided to run a few errands and catch a morning movie that no one else wanted to see. In case you were wondering, New In Town is just okay.

I got home in time to spruce up our place for the party that was taking place in our apartment later that evening. Kate's book club was having their kick-off meeting with a fiesta followed by a night of 80's cover music at the Canal Room. Thanks to the fabulous culinary skills of Ms. Kristin Whitley, our fiesta came complete with wonderful homemade margs and Mexican burritos. We ended the night in 2D with a private fashion show, featuring the likes of a green unitard and an afro wig. Don't think that she didn't wear it out...

Several cab rides later, we ended up at our destination for some serious 80's classics. Several of us made a beeline for the front and got the dance party started. Seriously, how can you not dance to "Take Me Home Tonight"? You can't, I promise. We held our own through several Michael Jackson classics and then called it a night. To be honest, the whole scene was a little reminiscent of Wednesday nights at the Tap spent jamming out to the Spazmatics - oh college life, how I miss thee. And in case you're wondering how to get a room full of coed 20-somethings to dance, throw on some vintage Whitney Houston and you'll see magic happen. For the record, grown men singing "yeaaaah I wanna dance with somebody" never gets old.

The weekend culminated with a Super Bowl party at Micah's apartment. The girls of 2D did not feel entitled enough to throw a football-themed bash since we had not watched a single professional football game all year, so we made the guys do it. You know that dudes are in charge when the menu is as follows: meaty pizza, wings, beer, various chips, and "7-layer" dip (which they happened to mix together). I'm serious, not a single dessert in sight. I couldn't help but wonder what the menu would have looked like had we thrown the party. The poor guys would have had diet coke, chocolate chip cookies and brownies. Due to the dessert-sized void, I decided that my contribution would be a baked good. More than anything, I wanted my addition to be the most popular dish. Who says I'm not competitive? I made brownies (not too done) with mint-flavored icing, think over sized Thin Mint cookie. While they weren't the "it" item (thanks Alyssa), I must say that they were a hit. However, now that I know what it takes to be on top, you can bet that I will show up next year with steak in hand because I will NOT be outdone:)

The company was wonderful, and more importantly, we were able to tackle the real issues of game day: Kurt Warner has aged well, Xuan will invest in a gold toilet someday, Bruce Springstein almost chipped the Penguin's tooth with his guitar swing, Ray Tidwell was the best Cardinals player and monster.com had the best commercial.

So with a heavy heart I say goodbye to the weekend and hello work week...here's to hoping that a new episode of Gossip Girl can waive my Monday blues.

God's Country

Also known as...Texas. For those of you that know me (you all do), you might know that I have not shied away from the fact that I think Texas is the best. Not only do I think it is the most superior state, I also lean towards the idea that it has the most wonderful people. Moving to New York not only solidified my bias, but it has also instilled a deeply-rooted love for Texas that I will never take for granted.

This past week I found myself in a sort of funk. Nothing earth shattering, but the kind of funk that could only be fixed by:

a) family
b) friends
c) queso
d) all of the above

Not only was it TX* v. ou weekend (my favorite sporting event), but it happened to be a weekend where my family AND friends would be conveniently located in the same zip code. This does not happen often, and when it does, I am left incredibly jealous. So imagine my excitement when my parents informed me (on Thursday afternoon no less) that they would not only be going to Dallas, but they would also be attending the Red Rival Rivalry WITH an extra ticket. Plus, the added bonus of seeing my newly engaged best friend AND fried food** from the State Fair were too much for this girl to handle. Can you say...

"Sold to the highest bidder!"

I kid you not, I jumped on the horn, scrambled around and found myself on a 9:35pm flight out of NYC. My nervous system was shot and Lord knows what I had managed to pack, but I was going. I emailed Kever, asked her to pick me up at midnight and the deal was done. I will admit, the fear of losing my job did cross my mind, but there was no turning back. The next morning I woke up, grabbed a cup of coffee, read the paper, and never looked back. I can honestly tell you that a good dose of God's country was all this girl needed. Friends, fun and healthy competition restored me back to health and put me at ease.

Peace, love & Texas.

*Please note, I am a proud A&M graduate and would not consider myself a traitor in any way. However, having been raised a longhorn my whole life has led me to a devotion that I could never give up. Thanks and Gig 'Em

**Also note, the calories were not in vain: 1.5 Fletcher's corn dogs, funnel cake, corn on the cob (2), diet dr. pepper, fried oreos and fried snickers.

How sweet it is...



Salt, Bride & Eggs


Red Rival Rivalry 2008


Dadski




Hyped


45-35

Fried Food & Fall

Fall is here. It's time to bust out the jeans (along with the deep lunges to actually make them fit!), wrap around your scarf and head out to a street fair. In the past few weeks, we have ventured to several street fairs in an attempt to pledge allegiance to the Texas State Fair that we are missing.

*Sidnote: Alyssa has never actually been to the State fair. Not normal Vest family, not normal.*

Moving on...

If you know anything about me, you know that I love a corndog with the best of them. There is just something about a normally fattening food item being dipped into a deep fryer that makes my heart melt. Unfortunately, corn dogs are a little bit more of a rarity in the Northeast which luckily limits my consumption. Oh AND, don't even get me started on the lack of regular mustard up here. Let's just say that I have been known to carry around small packets of non-spicy mustard in my purse - no shame people, no shame. Here are a few pics of us in all of our glory:

Whoa. We're excited...



Apartment 2D at our finest