Best Dessert Ever...

Our friend, Daniel, is getting married and headed to Paris for the honeymoon so he was asking Brian and I for our expertise on the subject. It made me a little sad that now all that Paris is are fond memories, but knowing I can say, "Yes, I have been to Paris" is an amazing thing.

So...if you are ever in Paris I highly recommend the following dessert at Laduree on the Champs-Elysees:

Rose "Religieuse"

Brutal, and Possibly Illegal

People who have known me for a while know the devotion I have to the whale and dolphin "community" if you will. As a kid I "adopted" many animals...my first adoption ever was a Humpback Whale named Scylla. I contributed to the protection of these majestic creatures through my adoption contributions for many years, and have often considered doing it once again.

When I was in the 8th grade I won a youth leadership contest for the whole state of Texas by composing a letter to my state representative. The topic I chose was commercial whaling. One "youth" was chosen from each of the 50 states and 1 from the District of Columbia which met at a Youth Forum in Washington, D.C. At that Youth Forum we not only learned about our government and got to do cool things like go on the Senate floor (a rarity), but we also had the opportunity to meet with our state Senators and Representative about our chosen topic. I was told by the leaders of the organization that ran the contest that my letter's topic was "original" and they could tell that I was very passionate about the safety of these beautiful whales. Apparently my letter really stuck with them as they all knew who I was when I arrived.

To this day I try to stay aware of the current state of commercial whaling in the world and read over the IWC annual meeting notes (International Whaling Commission). I am not a big fan of cultural whaling although it is allowed for native tribes (largely based in Alaska). These tribes are required to use traditional techniques to kill and they do have a limit imposed on them by the IWC. Unfortunately some have chosen to take advantage of the laws and bend them by quite a lot (and makes me very sad) as the following article shows:

Gray whale shot with machine gun off Wash.
Members of Makah Tribe detained after animal hit by .50-caliber gun

NEAH BAY, Wash. - An injured California gray whale was swimming out to sea Saturday after being shot with a machine gun off the western tip of Washington state, officials said.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Kelly Parker said five people believed to be members of the Makah Tribe shot and harpooned the whale Saturday morning. The extent of the whale’s injuries were not immediately known.

Tribe members were being held by the Coast Guard but had not been charged, said Mark Oswell, a spokesman for the law enforcement arm of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

A preliminary report said the whale was shot with a .50-caliber machine gun, Oswell said.

Coast Guard officials created a 1,000-yard safety zone around the injured whale, which was shot about a mile east of Neah Bay in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The whale had begun heading to sea Saturday afternoon, Oswell said.

Although the tribe has subsistence fishing rights to kill whales, Oswell said preliminary information indicates the whale may have been shot illegally.

“We allow native hunts for cultural purposes. However, this does not appear to be of that nature so far,” he said.

A call to tribal officials was not immediately returned on Saturday.

The Makah Tribe has more than 1,000 members and is based in Neah Bay.

If you give an inch "they" will take a mile. This is why I have always felt that whaling of any kind should be banned in total.

Happy Birthday, Amanda!

On Wednesday I turned the big 26! We had a nice quiet evening at home and are spreading the celebrations out throughout the month of September. I got lots of cool presents from family and friends, but Brian got me the neatest of all. He got me a Cricut diecut machine. If you are a scrapbooker you know what this is, and are totally jealous of me right now. Anyway...thanks for all of the birthday wishes. I had a great one.

Must Read


Ladies, if you haven't read this book you should. My good friend Jessica recommended it to me to aid me in the pregnancy process. (FYI - She got pregnant in one month after reading this book.) Not only does it have great information about fertility, but it is generally just information every woman should know about her body. So, even if you're not trying to conceive you should get this book.

Often times women think something is wrong with them during their cycle, and often these "symptoms" are completely normal. It teaches you how to chart your basal temperatures, cervical fluid, and position of your cervix. Yeah...it sounds gross at first maybe, but once you get over that it is a great tool to get to know how your body works. I firmly believe that all girls should be taught this in high school. Our bodies shouldn't be such a mystery to us! It is a great way to learn about yourself and to know that if you don't follow the 28 day cycle (with ovulation on day 14) that there isn't anything wrong with you!!! : ) The charts are a great way to show your OB/GYN what is going on with you on a normal basis or abnormal occurrence.

Husbands...even you will enjoy the book. Brian skimmed through it and found some of the information interesting. It certainly demystifies a lot of things regarding the female body and sexuality.

On that note...I am officially done taking birth control so hopefully come November/December the pills will be out of my system, and (fingers crossed) we will be one step closer to "and baby makes three." ; )

Mom Visit

My mom came down to visit Brian and I in Clute. We had a lot of fun shopping and reading Harry Potter. But, really it was just fun because I love spending time with my mom. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures together but she did take this one of Grace.Before coming to Clute she visited my brother, Matt, and his wife, Angie, in Dallas. They went to Heritage Village and got to spend some quality time in the old school house. Apparently Matt wasn't very well behaved. lol It's good that he has Angie to keep him in line.

Master Bedroom: Before & After

Well, I finally got around to working on the master bedroom. I'm really happy with the final results, and think it is a lot cozier. Before:
After:
My bedside Tiffany Tulip lamp died so Brian will fix that someday. In the meantime I found that cute green lamp. Very French...it has beading detail that you can't really see in the picture. Obviously I didn't buy Brian's and my lamps at the same time. However, I hope to get a new Pottery Barn dresser soon so the green lamp will be going on that whenever my Tiffany lamp gets fixed. : )
The pretty velvety moss green curtains are new and from Anthropologie. Normally...$98 dollars a panel. Guess how much I got them for? No...really...guess. Okay, fine...$29.95 a panel. How great is that? And I like them a lot more than those blue tuxedo drapes from Pottery Barn.
Brian and I are really happy with the results...and, yes, ladies I did the work all by myself. My sweet husband did help me move the furniture though. : )

TX Vineyards

This weekend Brooke and I took a trip to Austin and visited some vineyards in the Marble Falls area. We had a lot of fun tasting various wines and enjoying the hilly scenery. (You don't know how nice that is unless you are living in and around flat Houston all of the time.) We had a great time together and hope to go again soon!This is some beautiful Texas countryside:
Texas Hills Vineyards was our first stop and we got a little tour of the facilities as well. They had some unique "flavors." They are "famous" for their "Kick Butt Cab" which is a Cabernet Sauvignon. Brooke and I were partial to the Orange Moscato. They let me have some dark chocolate with it. Talk about good! It tasted like those oranges covered in chocolate. I'm thinking Orange Moscato with some chocolate cupcakes iced with dark chocolate ganache (sp?) and some orange zest on top to go with it.
Sorry this didn't turn out better, Brooke! For some reason the camera focused in on the wine glass more. Maybe the camera was thirsty. : )
Here we are in the grape crushing buckets. Unfortunately there wasn't any grape crushing to be done since it wasn't harvest time. Although, the thought of people's feet crushing the grapes for my wine gives me an unsanitary feeling.
I look ridiculously fat in this picture. I swear I am not as large as I look in the picture. Stupid wide hips.
Although it's not France or Italy the vineyards were really pretty. Being a "Type A" personality I really liked all of the organized rows of grapevines.More grapevines:
Grapes on the vine:

After tasting wine all day I almost wanted to grab a grape off of the vine, wash it off, and just taste a really good grape.

London, England

Our big trip has come and gone now, but we have many wonderful memories. Both cities were fabulous and we can't wait to make a return trip. Enjoy the pictures...there are a lot of them.

Here we are on Tower Bridge...this is NOT the bridge that "London Bridge is falling down" comes from.This is the axe that was used to behead Anne Boleyn. (One of Henry VIII's wives.)
This is the White Tower in the Tower of London. There are many different towers such as Blood Tower or there is the vault where the Crown Jewels are kept. The whole place has a deep and creepy history.
Tower Bridge...probably the thing I was most excited about seeing before we went.
King Brian...
The lovebirds in front of Westminster Abbey on the right and Parliament on the left.
Big Ben...I always thought of it as the big clock in the Peter Pan Disney cartoon, but it was huge. The bells are really loud too. Awesome!
THE Cleopatra at The British Museum.Brian was very excited to see 2 Ferrari's outside of Harrod's.

Mmmm...pizza and beer in the Harrod's "food court."
In front of Buckingham Palace...
The day we went to Buckingham Palace was the Trooping of the Colours celebration. There was a big parade that morning. It happened while we were in Westminster Abbey. We also skipped the Changing of the Guard. But, it was nice to see the palace when the crowds were at a low.