The last day of "Half Birthday Month"

In case you missed out September was dubbed "Half Birthday Month" Several reasons- well, okay, 2 reasons.

1. Summer was over and I was sad so I wanted another option.

2. I have minimal birthday's left in my 20's so I made the unanimous decision to begin celebrating 1/2 birthdays until I turn 30. (depressing, I know)

I think I got the most out of my "Half Birthday Month"- in fact I had such a fabulous time I may enact "Quarterly Birthday Month" I'm obviously all ready having MAJOR anxiety over leaving this decade of life.

This past weekend was a busy one. Wait- the past week in general was busy. Are you surprised? Didn't think so. Friday Georgia cheered at the Stratford High Homecoming Pre-Game. Adorable. Then we went to dinner with her gal pals and parents. Afterward one of Georgia's BFF's came over for a sleepover.

We had the pleasure of having the class dog- Kodi with us over night since Kendall had been drawn to take it home with her. He had quite the place of honor at breakfast....

 Saturday we woke up and I took both girls to a birthday party then I hit the park for a run. 12 miles (and being drenched in rain) later I met back up with Georgia. She was suppose to have a soccer game but it was cancelled.Two weeks in a row now for soccer! It needs to stop raining!

I ran to a quick dinner with some friends at Giacomo's Love this place- and all of the pasta is homemade.

It's amazing.

Sunday got a run in then watched the Texans loose. Pretty certain it's because I was not in attendance.

Met my mom & Emery for pizza with Georgia. She made her own pizza, we stuffed ourselves with the pizza goodness and planned on heading home.....

As we started home our favorite song came on. What else do you do? Make that 8pm bedtime right away or suggest a trip for ice cream, U-Turn it, roll the windows down and sing at the top of your lungs?!?
I think you know what our choice was.

A late stop by Marble Slab (ugh- I know...who am I?) then we went for a stroll while we devoured our cones. One last quick decision to run across the street to pick out some new books to read and we were set.

Best part of the night? Putting Georgia to bed and hearing her say "This was the best night ever".

My girl... every night with you is the "best night ever" but I agree- as much as I talk about our "schedule" the best moments are those that are totally unplanned.

Oh yeah- and someone lost another tooth! We are up to 4. Lucky for Mommy they have all fallen out at school. #Winning

Now if the temperature would drop we could really welcome Fall!

Words of Wisdom

That Taylor Swift really knows what she's talking about.

Also.. she doesn't "twerk"

"Surviving Whole Foods"

This is amazing- I died.

Surviving Whole Foods

"They're doing the cleanse where you consume nothing but lemon juice, cayenne pepper and fiber pills for 10 days, what's that one called again? Oh, yeah...anorexia. I went on a cleanse once; it was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, I detoxified, I purified, I lost weight. On the other hand, I fell asleep on the highway, fantasized about eating a pigeon, and crapped my pants. I think I'll stick with the whole eating thing."

Welcome to the Fast Life

Oh did I say FAST forward in my previous post??!?!? Whoa. Truer words could not have been spoken. School Started- did you miss that? We sure did not. The beginning of school obviously meant the end of summer which we were all too happy to pull to a close. (okay, okay...we did have a few extra pool days thrown in for the heck of it) Seriously though- we thrive on a schedule and boy do we have one this year... and it moves fast. We are loving it but here's a little run down of our week:

Mondays: I work until 5pm/ Georgia is picked up from school by Memaw then I get a run in directly after work for marathon training then pick Georgia up from Memaw. Homework, reading, bath, bed.

Tuesdays: I work until 2:00pm then pick up Georgia- outfit change and it's off to the Ballet Academy Downtown for lessons until 6pm. Then we drive home (last week we did have a random Girl Scout meeting directly after at 7pm but this won't be the case every week) dinner, homework, bath, bed.

Wednesdays: I work until 5pm/ Doug picks up Georgia and they go to soccer practice. I pick up Georgia at 8pm. Bedtime.

Thursdays: I work until 2:00pm/ pick up Georgia- outfit change and head to dance class for back to back tap and hip hop classes. Again, while she is in class I head over to the park to squeeze in a quick run then race back to swoop her up from class. Dinner, Homework, Reading, Bath, Bed.

Fridays: I work until 5pm/ Memaw picks up Georgia from school then I pick her up on my way home from work. Dinner, Homework, Reading, Bath, Bed.

Added into all of this I'm attempting to work in my core training in the mornings at 5am at the house with my main stay- Billy Blanks. You know I've always loved my Tae Bo! Luckily my mom has offered and if we can work it (as we did this past week) to come stay the night once a week so I can wake up early to run which is nice. So one morning this week I was able to actually get my run in before work.

(Mix all this in with your regular mundane tasks of grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, playing, walking the dog, cell phones breaking, minor trip to the emergency room for kidney stones, PTA meetings, orientations of every kind...for every activity, charity events, fundraisers, back to school nights, working not just until 5pm but until 6pm and although I wouldn't wish for it any other way in a million years- guess what...I'm kinda tired.)

Georgia also did a cheer camp this weekend and had a blast! She will cheer before the homecoming game in a couple of weeks. I mentioned above we went to a girl scout meeting. She really wanted to join so we went and I ended up volunteering to be the troop leader. I have no idea what I'm doing but I'll figure it out as we go. Honestly... I just want some cookies... She is super excited! I'm getting slightly nervous I may have bitten off more than I can chew....Oh yeah am I suppose to be in training to take over a company as well this year?!? It's okay- if I could handle full time school, work and Georgia the past three years so far this seems like a breeze.

If only we could find time to squeeze in horseback riding, ice skating and piano lessons....then we could truly take over the world. ;)

Hmmmm....

"Uh, duh some dogs wear clothes if they're famous...............awwwwkward. Umm let's just get on to our make overs okay mom?"

Whoa- excuse me Miss Priss. I didn't realize I was raising Paris Hilton here. Time for a reality check. Winston may wear rhinestone necklaces but I do draw the line at clothing my dear.....

Just another Saturday night convo with my six year old.

Things are really ramping up over here.

Fast Forward to First Grade

Dear Georgia,
I really feel as though life has fast forwarded us to first grade. As we prepped for the first day of school I almost felt like we were in the twilight zone in a way. Really? First Grade? There wasn't any nervousness about starting the new school year. It was kinda business as usual. (except for the fact I think it's completely strange you are in first grade and I can't get use to the idea you are 6 years old going on 6 and a half going on 7) We shopped for school clothes, we bought groceries for lunches, we read "The Night Before First Grade", we said prayers at bed time and you were in bed right at 8pm.

I kinda planned all this out years ago when I made the move to where we are now. I knew you would make friends and keep those friends from year to year. I knew it would be important to stay in the same "system" from start to finish. It's why we are where we are. It's why if all continues as planned you will graduate with the majority of kids you met on the first day of Kindergarten last year. You will continue to see familiar faces on the first day of school not only with your classmates but with the teachers as well. So in a way this year felt strange. For the first time nothing momentous was occurring except for the fact you are another year older and entering a new grade level in school. Wow..... breathe. And here we are.

I woke you up on the first day and you had your outfit planned out exactly. You had picked out a pink blazer while we were clothes shopping that you fell in love with and were dying to wear on the first day. To be honest- I did not buy the blazer that day. I'm always a sucker for those purchases and then you never wear them. (I cannot tell you how many adorable jackets, vests, etc. we have hanging in your closet you have worn for 2.5 seconds) After our shopping spree this blazer was all you could talk about for your first day of school outfit...wait I'm sorry "look". You even mentioned it to your teacher when we met her prior to school beginning you were going to wear it on the first day....regardless that it's still topping 100 degrees around here. Whoops on Mommy's part. Needless to say I ran back and purchased said blazer so you could have your moment.

So you dressed and I was watching as you stood in front of the big mirror in my bedroom and put on the prized blazer and buttoned it up. The look of pride on your face was absolutely priceless. That little jacket was worth every penny even if you only wear it that one day. I truly hope you never loose one little ounce of your self confidence my dear. You. are. amazing.

We ran down stairs ate and packed up then headed out for the big day. You played along and let me do my millions of photos. Of course I had set my camera out the night before but did not check the battery....still kicking myself for that. So phone photos had to make do. We arrived at school and were greeting by your friends and their parents. We saw your new teacher, found your desk, took more pictures, more hugs, more kisses. I tried to linger and then you said, "Okay Mom, you can go now."

huh? I can "go now?"
Wait...and since when am I "Mom"?
Seriously Georgia?

I took a deep breath- gave you one last hug and told you to have a great day! Then we left. I was really okay until this point- I wasn't going to cry on your first day of first grade but something about you being absolutely okay made me a little teary. You know, because it's better if you aren't okay or something like that......I'm kidding.

I picked you up and you had an awesome first day. I mean.... I guess you did.

You ate lunch with Hallie
(just like you did every day last year)
which is as much as I got out of you
(just like last year).

I was told I ask you too many questions and in case you forget my response was:
"You know Georgia...you might get irritated and not answer one of my questions and roll your eyes every day when I ask but I'm going to keep asking because I think one day you are going to realize not every parent cares what their child does at school. I do. I really want to know. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to- but basically I'm not going to quit asking you every. single. day of your life because I love you, I'm interested in what you do when I'm not around. I'm interested in you. So sorry- your stuck with it."

See- here we are. ;)

Love you more,
Mommy
(Not committing to the "Mom" thing yet.)

(Oh yeah, you kept your blazer on all day long in the heat. You were committed to your "look" way to go my mini- fashionista)

Wrapping up Summer

Where to even begin?!

Run, Run, Run (Physically and Literally) is what I've been doing lately...

Two weekends ago I went to Austin to celebrate one of my best friend's entrance into her 30's. I have to say my gal pal's know how to entertain. We started off the weekend Friday night on the third floor of Steiner Ranch Steak House overlooking Lake Travis with a cocktail party. Saturday morning we hitched a right on the limo bus she had booked for the day and traveled into the hill country to test out some wineries. Such a great day with my best friends and celebrating Emily's birthday. I'm not sure if I can top these amazing 30th escapes my friends have had but luckily I have a couple more years to think up something. ;)

Back in town last week and work has become a fairly intense part of life these days. I have been taking full advantage of Houston Restaurant Weeks and so far have hit up Brassiere 19, Hearsay, Mr. Peeples, Bird and the Bear, Phillipe and Triniti. HRW is coming in as a close 3rd favorite Houston event (after the Nutcracker Market and Rodeo Cookoff of course)

Women of Wardrobe and Dress for Success were putting on a Nicole Miller trunk show at Tootsie's Wednesday and I stopped by for some delish bites from Corner Table, Armando's & Eddie V's. We sipped on Stack Wines while we shopped- have you seen these? Perfect for a party to toss in an ice chest, the beach, etc. I found them to be adorable! They said you can pick them up at World Market. Pretty sure I'll be stopping by there in the very near future...

Nicole Miller was making a personal appearance and I have always been fond of her designs. I'm embarrassed to say I had one of her dresses hanging in my closet with the tags still on it from a couple years back that I never got around to wearing. What a perfect opportunity! She was standing near by and said "I was just looking at your dress and thinking How Cute, I wonder who made it- then I realized it was me!" I was slightly star struck ;)  Her new fall line has some to-die-for pieces that I will be picking up soon. I'm really loving the leather/ rock vibe being played into this fall's look- it's something I would have normally stayed away from but it truly feels accessible to everyone this season.

Friday night was girl's night with some of my favorite Houstonites. We planned on going to Rosemont Social Club (the new venue above Uchi). My suggestion- skip it.... I suppose I may give it one more shot after dinner at Uchi some time but Friday night was not the night to be there. Not quite sure what was going on. We moved on (very quickly) to St. Genevieve on West Ave where we ran into some friends and had some provisions.

Bridesmaid dress shopping on Saturday for Kristina's wedding (we were best friends in high school- miss that girl!) Such a great time with the wedding party and brunch afterward at one of my favorite brunching spots- The Bird and The Bear.

Outfit change and time to head to the Texan's game! My friend Michael was in town and had invited me to join him while he rooted on Miami. I donned my Red, White and Blue while he decked out in Teal and Orange. We had amazing seats (3rd row, 50 yard line) and met up with some of my friends at half time. It was a really great game- Texans win!!

Sunday Georgia and I rendezvoused as she came back from her dad's and we brunched at the new spot in the museum district- Lucille's. Y'all- I can't say enough about this place. I rarely go to a restaurant and want to order everything on the menu. Actually that NEVER happens.....except here. Everything looked amazing! Every dish was so different and creative. When our food arrived I really cannot explain to you how well the entire meal was put together and the taste of each dish was so different, yet perfect. It was really good. I cannot wait to go back.

A little back to school shopping for my mini-fashionista, a play date at the pool to meet some new friends and a Mommy/Daughter date to see Despicable Me 2 and we called it a night. 

 Lunch with Mom and Birthday Party

I have to say...these ladies are gorgeous!