Legally Blonde

A couple of weeks ago my friend Veronica and I went to see Legally Blonde the musical at Bass Hall in downtown Fort Worth.  She bought us both tickets for my birthday/Christmas/Admin's Day.  I was so psyched!  I love the movie, so I knew that I would love the musical too.  Great music and great dancing!  We had a blast!



Here we are standing outside on the balcony waiting for it to begin.  I wanted to wear pink, but I don't own a pink dress.  Gasp!  I really am a fan though.  We did see quite a few girls/ladies wearing pink which is Elle's signature color.  It really was a great girly evening!

Now That's What I Call Breakfast!

My friend and co-worker subscribes to The FOOD Network magazine.  Great magazine!  It is loaded with tons and tons of recipes.  Definitely not like some magazines that are mainly full of ads. 

Well, I was skimming through her June/July 2009 issue and found an amazing recipe.  I sometimes like bizarre recipes; things you would not normally think to pair together.  One of my favorite sandwiches that I eat from time to time is PB, banana, honey, and bacon.  Love it!  People think I'm weird, but honestly, the salty bacon pairs so nicely with the sweetness of the PB and honey.  So when I saw this recipe, I just had to make it.

I introduce to you the maple French toast and bacon cupcake:



Seriously people; this is the bomb!  The creator of the recipe was trying to recreate her love of french toast and bacon smothered in maple syrup.  I think she hit the nail on the head!  You can't tell from the picture, but there is also bacon in the cupcake batter itself.  And believe me, you will want it in there!  These babies are RICH!!!  The salty bacon really helps to even things out.  I brought these into work and they were a hit.  They completely finished the entire dozen off! 

I have been knitting, but my latest project was a sweater and that does take some time.  So here it is:



This is my "I'm so glad it's 90+ degrees and I am taking photos in a 100% wool sweater" smile.  I think I'm going to get a lot of wear out of this one as soon as winter hits. 

Since I was already sweating, why not put on some wool socks too.



I finished these two months ago, but kept on putting off taking my picture out in the heat.  So much for that. 

(Photography by Kevin)

And since my niece is now almost 6 months old, she was due for another knitted item from her aunt. 



I didn't realize at the time that the flower on her dress was going to come out that big.  I debated sewing it to the top, but I really thought it needed some color.  And the massive flower on her head was not my doing.  Macy can thank Mimi for that one.  She looks adorable in anything though.  My dad was a little disturbed that she was wearing a halter.  Baby's can wear halters and it's okay, right? 

Sound of Music | Central Station Antwerp (Belgium)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k

Most people who know me well know that one of my favorite movies of all time is The Sound of Music. Love Julie Andrews, love the music, love it! Well, I just have to share this video that my sister-in-law Lisa sent to me from YouTube. Even if you aren't fond of the movie or the song, watch it all the way through. You won't be dissapointed!

Here's a little info on it:

This video was made in the Antwerp , Belgium Central (Train) Station on the 23rd of March 2009.
With no warning to the passengers passing through the station,
at 08:00 am a recording of Julie Andrews singing 'Do, Re, Mi' begins to play on the public address system.”
As the bemused passengers watch in amazement, some 200 dancers begin to appear from the crowd and station entrances. They created this amazing stunt with just two rehearsals!

Jaalla's Wedding Weekend

The day of Jaalla and Jason's wedding finally arrived!  It was an exciting weekend and somewhat nerve racking.  As the Matron of Honor I was scheduled to make a toast at the reception, but all went well. 



Here are Jaalla and Jason at the rehearsal on Friday night. 



And here we are after an awesome meal at the rehearsal dinner.



This is the White Oak High School crew at the wedding reception.



And here is Kevin looking mighty fine in his suit and blowing bubbles while waiting for the bride and grooms departure. 

Congratulations Jaalla and Jason!!!

Family and Friends

We spent this past weekend in East Texas.  First we went to Carthage for my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary party.  There were so many people ther and some great food.  It was great to see most of my family again and visit and east some "grocery's" as my Poppa calls it. 



I love my grandparents.  We lived next door to them for many years that I was growing up.  My Poppa loves to talk about the bible and the Lord and work out in the yard.  Nanni is an artist and paints the most beautiful oil paintings.  We used to do all kinds of crafty stuff together when I was young.  They are truly a blessing to me, and I am very blessed to have them in my life and so close to me through all these years. 

My brother Joey came with us and my sweet niece Macy.  I spent a lot of time hogging her and taking pictures.  In fact I ran down my batteries before I could take pictures of anyone else.  Here are a few of my favorites.



Here's Macy with Uncle Kevin.



Aunt Jenn and Macy.  I think I might start going by Aunt JJ.  J's are usually hard for children to pronounce anyway and I was trying to think of something cute.



And Macy loves her Papaw. 

After the party we drove to Tyler to spend the rest of the weekend with Tish and Shane.  We had a great time!  We had dinner at Bruno's Pizza.  A Tyler favorite.  Sunday we went to church with them and afterwards to Jucy's Hamburgers!  The best hamburger I've ever had, and yes, it is better than Kincaid's.  It's close, but Juicy's is the clear winner.  This is something I definitely miss from Tyler and Longview. 



I know.  I look crazy in this picture, but it was so stinkin' good! 



The picture is kind of dark, but here's Tish and Shane enjoying their Jucy's burgers.  Good times.

Party

Jaalla is getting married June 20th, so we decided to give her a lingerie shower.  It was a great way to get some of Jaa's closest friends together for food and fun. 

First we went to The Cheesecake Factory.  Yuummmmm!!! 


Here's Kristin, Jaalla, and Lindsay.

Next we went back to my place for cake, punch, and presents!


The cake that Kristin brought was awesome!  It looked and tasted fabulous.  And no, there is no alcohol in my famous punch recipe.  (Just wanted everyone to be aware of that before they see the next few pictures).


After Jaa opened her presents, we started taking pictures.  This went on for quite some time, but we were having a blast.


This is my favorite picture!  Kevin came home just in the nick of time to get some good group shots for us.  Here we all are jumping off of the fireplace.  Jaalla seemed to get a head start in every picture.  She looks like she has had some major collagen injections in those lips!
 
It was a great evening!  I hadn't seen Kristin since my wedding nine years ago and I hadn't seen Lindsay since I graduated high school!  It's amazing how time flies.

Squirrelly Knitting

Well I do have some recently completed projects.  The moment I saw a pattern for these mittens, I fell in love with them.  They are the Squirrelly Swedish Mittens by Elliphantom Knits.  Here is my version.



I think they are super cute with the little trees and squirrels on them. 

And here is yet another pair of socks.  These are from the book Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush.



I actually used the same pattern and made my mom a pair of these in brown for Christmas, but I of course forgot to take a picture before I gifted them. 

Sweater Weather

Well, not really anymore.  Last week was definitely sweater weather though.  I finished this sweater over a month ago, so I did get to enjoy it for a while.  I LOVE this sweater!  It was knit in 100% wool and is extremely warm.  I got the free pattern from Knitty.com.  I could have knit it one size smaller, but that's okay.  I plan to make another one eventually.  And Tish loved it so much that she is going to make one too! 

Girly Weekend

I went to see Tish a couple of weekends ago and spent several days.  We had a great time, but unfortunately did not take a lot of pictures. 

We went to her book club and it was so much fun!  I even read the book, Summer at Tiffany.  Really cute book and a quick read.  Then we went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic.  It was a good clean movie which was very refreshing.

Friday we went to KVNE to see our former boss and morning announcer.  We had a great time visiting and reminiscing.




Saturday we went to see my sweet niece Macy.  Tish's sis came with us and we all took turns holding her and taking pics.


 

I hope to post some pictures of finished knitting projects next week so check back soon...

I love to ride my bicycle...

I keep meaning to post pics of my awesome Christmas present.  Check it out.



My in-laws got me this bike for Christmas and I love it.  It just screams JENNIFER!  I practiced riding it in the driveway the other day and I'm sure my neighbors were laughing at me.  Let's just say that it has been many many years since I rode a bike.  Many years.  I looked wobbly and couldn't seem to stay on very well.  Kevin adjusted the seat and that seemed to help some.  I probably should buy a helmet in case I fall off. 

Macy

Well, my new niece made her arrival at 2:33 a.m. on February 1st.  She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz.  and was 21 in. long.  Gorgeous baby!  She and her mom are both doing great.  I am so excited for my brother and sister-in-law.  Our family is so blessed to have this new addition. 



This was about 20 min. after she was born.  She was not happy.



This was taken around 1:00 p.m. that day.  The hospital even put a cute pink bow on her head. 



Here's Uncle Kevin holding his niece. 

Knitting Update

Let me tell you, I did some major Christmas knitting this year.  I made four pairs of socks and two baby hats.  I also finished a baby blanket for my brother and sister-in-laws shower that was a couple of weeks ago.  I was a knitting fool!  Unfortunately, I neglected to take pictures of all of the gifts before I gifted them.  I have no idea how I manage to do that so often, but it makes me very frustrated with myself.  So here are a few of the things I did take pictures of before I gave them as gifts.



These socks I made for my mother-in-law.  I loved all the colors in that were in the yarn. 



And this is a newborn size hat that I made for my new niece. 



And I totally forgot to take a picture of the blanket I made for the baby shower, so here is a picture of half the blanket at least.  My friend Veronica took this picture and it cracks me up every time.  My brother is on the left and my sister-in-law on the right.  My head is sticking out in the middle.  I embroidered the name "MACY" at the bottom of the blanket and that is what we are looking at. 

So that is it.  At least it is some proof that I am a knitting maniac. 

Next week you will see pictures of me holding my new little niece...