Headed west for the weekend

Josh and I headed to Ft. Stockton for Labor Day Weekend. It was so nice to get out in the middle of nowhere for a few days and not do much.

We went down to Marathon to eat dinner at The Gage Hotel Saturday night. It was so good and the day was absolutely beautiful!! Beautiful enough for Josh and I to talk about quitting our jobs and moving our west! :)

Gorgeous west texas sunset

I don't know what it is about being out there, but I love it. There's just something about the environment that makes me feel so at peace with the world.

And when we got home yesterday afternoon, this was awaiting me! One of the first oxblood lilies of the season! Yeah!

Wildflowers

I have a soft spot in my heart for wildflowers! I think it was in the 6th grade that I had to have a wildflower collection for science class. Ever since then, I have always been enamored with any and all kinds of wildflowers.

Since we had a such a fantastic winter, weather wise, for flowers, they are out in full force this year. I have been itching to get to a good area to take some pics. This past weekend afforded me that chance in more than one place.

These were at Bill & Dolores's Friday evening.

Saturday morning, Dad, Josh, & I went to my parent's farm to burn some brush piles. Once we got them started, I headed out in the pasture to see what I could find.

There was a small patch of pale blue bluebonnets. In this picture it looks more white.

There were tons of Red Paintbrush. I was on the lookout for a yellow one, but it remained elusive this year.

Wild Hyacinth

Spiderwort

These are on the land behind my parent's house. Saturday afternoon, we took a little hike to the creek with Rylie to check out the flowers and the dewberry situation for the year (looks promising!).

Rylie checking things out

This ladybug would not hold still for anything!

Buttercup. This is a true buttercup. The pink one's that everyone calls "Buttercup" are actually Showy Primrose.

Poppy - I love these flowers! So delicate and simple.

And the obligatory Texas Bluebonnet picture. Bayla is missing because he had finished rolling around in a huge pile of cow poop. He wasn't allowed anywhere near us!

Good Friday Fish Fry

For the last few (at least 8) years, my family has gotten together with some family friends for a Good Friday Fish Fry. We switch locations every year, so each family gets a chance to host it. This year it was out at Bill & Dolores's in the country.

The day before they had just gotten two 6 week old puppies who were so cute!! We spent a lot of time out at the barn with them.

I sure do miss sweet, snuggly puppies sometimes!

This one I can tell is going to be quite the mess when she gets older!

They had a nice case of puppy narcolepsy!

They fell asleep wherever they were last sitting.

Toes made great chew toys!

They were held a lot that night! And oh my goodness, the crying when we finally had to leave them! I do not miss that horrible crying!

My Shiner Beer advertisement

Dolores and her granddaughter, Jenna

Each year, mom & I make deviled eggs. Ross eats about half of them himself!

More puppy lovin' after dinner

And then we tried to get a pic with the dogs in the bluebonnets.

This is what most of the pics looked like!

Running away!

Lots of hand gnawing!

Finally a good one!

They ended the evening by having an all out fur-pulling, tail-chewing fight.

Wedding Shower Cake Bites

These are my very first order for Cake Bites. My very first order for someone besides family. Well, not quite, because the orderer was my cousin Sarah, but they were for her friend Sara's wedding shower March 27.

I was so nervous to make these because I am a perfectionist and wanted these to look just right! I think they came out perfectly!

The white is Red Velvet with Cream Cheese frosting and white chocolate coating.

The chocolate is Yellow Cake with Chocolate frosting and dark chocolate coating.

The stripes are the bride's colors - Navy Blue and Yellow.

The couple's monogram

The Cake Bites at the shower (*photo courtesy of Kelsey Bryant via Facebook*)


Sarah called me with rave reviews and hopefully some more orders!! I think for my first time, they turned out really, really well!

Flowers

I went home this past weekend. As I got closer to the 'burg, I started noticing wildflowers in the median, most likely phlox. I got really excited that maybe there would be some in the pasture behind my parents house. I was very disappointed, but did catch a few.

Just a plain ol' dandelion, but the yellow was so pretty against the brown, wintery grass

The peach tree in my parent's backyard

This is actually an annual winter weed, but I loved these when I was little!

And then, the phlox. There were only a few out, but they are so cute and pretty!