camping with friends

As I mentioned on Friday, Mark and I headed off after work last week to enjoy some tent camping with our friends. We headed up to Ray Roberts Lake State Park and had a great time! 

As promised, we did some of this:

and a lot of this:

Unfortunately the park didn't have any canoe/kayaks for rent so we didn't get to do that, but we were content with what we had and had a great time!

We hiked over 3 miles, made omelets for breakfast, saw a few deer including a big buck, played catchphrase, made s'mores, shared stories, and explored. We were blessed with great weather and beautiful fall colors and the park was convenient and only a mile away from our homes. 

For a more in depth look at our weekend, keep scrolling!

it was the Kia's first trip and she was a trooper!

We had such a great weekend and I was so happy to get away from the city. I grew up camping and it's a big release to live a little harder and learn to be content in what you have when you're away. I love the nature and the company, too! Happy to be home, but happy to do it all over again in a few weeks with family. :)

My favorite Five on Friday yet!

I've got a sore throat, but I think I slept off all of the anxiety from last night and I'm here for another Five on Friday!

As usual, I'm linking up with April at A. Liz Adventures. Check her out!

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I have been checking the weather lately to see when a chill in the air will make it's way down to Texas, and I'm pretty excited about this outlook next week:

I mean, it's no Canada, but it's a welcome break from the heat and the signal of the beginning of fall!

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I saw that there was a sale on boots at Nordstrom a couple of weeks ago over on Shay's blog (yes, she is "Sean the Bachelor's" older sister!) and I've been slowly saving my pennies for a boot splurge, so I bought these puppies:

They are REALLY tall, great quality leather, non-slouchy, and on sale right now for 50% off! Yep, that's just $89.99 for a pretty nice pair of boots! Get on over there and buy some. Plus, Nordstrom always has free shipping and free returns. Can't beat that!

*update-I was a little annoyed when I went to link to the page where I bought these boots because I noticed they had been marked down even more and were now $40 less than what I paid for them just a few weeks ago. I planned on stopping into Nordstrom this weekend to see if I could return and re-buy the boots at the sale price, but on a whim I decided to give them a quick call. I didn't have to hold at all to wait to speak to a real person, and they INSTANTLY credited my card with the sale price difference. I was on the phone for less than a minute! I have to give them mad props for being the company that consumers want to buy from. Way to go, Nordstrom, and happy day for me!*

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I'm thinking this weekend calls for some blog TLC. I haven't been paying much attention to it lately just because my life has suddenly sped up over the last couple of weeks, so it needs some love! I want to add a sidebar feature about Motley and Mark, but what else do you think I should change or add? 

She's sad because she doesn't have a sidebar feature.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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Speaking of Fall, I'm holding out as long as I can to put out my decorations. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE fall and Halloween, but with a combination of the heat, our unfinished house, and the effort of cleaning around fall decor, I just want to wait until the moment is right. Here are some photos of my previous decorations over the last couple of years:

A little decor at my first Dallas apartment!




I loved this fireplace...even though it didn't work!


Harvest blocks courtesy of Kelly. Aren't they cute?!


My sister as a TMNT and me as Amy Winehouse!

The spread from my Halloween party a couple of years ago.

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I mentioned I had high anxiety last night, and if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you'll know why. It's because Texas Tech (I might have mentioned them once or twice here and here) had their first conference game against a new rival, TCU. My sister and other family members went to TCU and if anything, they have some pretty die-hard fans. Tech and TCU haven't played each other much over the last 10 years, but TCU joined the Big 12 conference last year and I can see the early makings of a pretty big rival, even outside of my extended family. Mark and I joined friends at a "Tech" establishment with about 100 other fans and watched the game on the big screen. It was a nail-biter, but we pulled out ahead and are undefeated so far! Tech always seems to bring a dramatic game, and this one was no different. Here are the headlines this morning from the Ft. Worth Star Telegram and the Lubbock Avalanche Journal:

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Lubbock Avalanche Journal

Now, there is rarely a game with perfect officiating and this game did have its questionable calls, but all in all, my Alma Mater won and it was a great game! I'd love to address some comments from TCU fans on Facebook, but I'm trying real  hard to bite my tongue...and that's all I'll say about that! Wrecked 'em!

Happy Weekend!

Five on Friday: College and Football Edition!

We've made it to Friday!!!

For all of you that work normal jobs and don't take three month vacations every summer, I'm sure you're with me on feeling nostalgic every fall when you see and hear all about school starting back up. It brings me back to that exciting, giddy time where everything was new and you were off to a fresh start. 

Another thing that makes me nostalgic for school is my participation in a blogger fantasy football league with people like Karoline with a K. See if you can follow me here: yes, fantasy football is primarily for the NFL, but I'm not a HUGE NFL fan. I'm much more of a college football fan, so being involved makes me even more excited for COLLEGE football.

All that being said, I thought I would do a Five on Friday: College and Football Edition. Prepare yourself for a massive picture dump and let me know if your college experience was as great as mine.

As usual, I'm linking up here for my weekly Five on Friday!

Here are the things that stand out to me the most from my college experience...

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Classes.

I feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory. You can't really go to college without going to class. If you don't go to class, you won't be going to college for much longer. I almost learned this the hard way...

(plus, if I didn't go to class, I wouldn't have met my handsome hubby!)

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The new friends you make and the old friends that get to share in your new adventures!

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The tradition and pride for your school and the education you gain along the way.

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The Big 12 Football games.

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As bittersweet as it all may be now, the satisfaction of reaching your goals and being celebrated for your success is the best ending to the journey.

So I'd like to reach out to all of you high-schoolers and college kids. Yes, we think you are immature, and silly, and irresponsible...but enjoy these next 4, 5, 6, etc. years because they are just the start of the best years of your life. Especially to my cousin Andrew, who is way too cool for me and probably thinks I'm super lame for even writing a blog. I'd like to think that it was me who planted the Red Raider seed in his mind because now, 4 years after living with his family during my internship, he is a Freshman at Texas Tech. I can't wait to share stories of our alma mater in years to come!

Fight, Matadors, for Tech!

Songs of love we'll sing to thee,

Bear our banners far and wide.

Ever to be our pride,

Fearless champions ever be.

Stand on heights of victory.

Strive for honor evermore.

Long live the Matadors!

Wreck 'em Tech!!!