travel diaries : Palestine, part 3

For part 3, I'll share details of the whole reason we made the road trip to Palestine : Kelly and Kyle's wedding!

Kelly chose the beautiful Bella Sera Ranch as her wedding location. It was on 5 acres of land but was only a short drive from our B&B, so it was country AND convenient. On the drive there for the rehearsal, we came over a large hill with the turn in to the ranch on the left and I gasped and exclaimed how beautiful it was. It looked like a movie backdrop! My gasping must have caused us to miss the turn (along with my poor directions) and I snapped this picture as we were turning around:

Horrible photography, but still gorgeous.

The grounds of this ranch were so beautiful. The whole ranch is 80 acres, 5 dedicated to the venue owner's personal property and 5 for the wedding/event grounds. It was seriously impeccable. We had a chance to talk with the owner who lives on property and she told us the story of how they got there. She is from Palestine but was living on her husbands farm in upstate New York when she declared that she wasn't a farm girl and didn't want to farm. Her husband then told her to find her passion or her hobby and so she and her sister bought the 80 acres in Palestine and built the venue. They have the cutest log cabin as their main residence and her husband also helps out with the events. They were so nice! They had plans to build more cabins and a smaller event space for smaller parties and anniversary celebrations, etc.

The reception hall in the foreground and the chapel behind it.

The cute little white chapel!

Mark and I, at the rehearsal.

I didn't take too many pictures at the wedding so I'm stealing many of these from Instagram. Thanks, people!

The site of the rehearsal dinner was Elmwood Gardens, and it was gorgeous! Kind of shabby-chic.

Getting ready!

Kelly's sister and maid of honor, Katy.

Spying on the guys (wayyyy out there in the field) getting photographed.

It was a gorgeous wedding and a really fun weekend in Palestine, Texas. Congrats Kelly and Kyle, thanks for letting us share in your special day!!!!

travel diaries: Palestine, Texas part 1

After a whirlwind weekend, it's safe to say I could use another day (or two) to unwind, but I'm thinking that will have to wait another 5 days, thanks to this grown-up job I have! 

Mark and I had a great weekend celebrating my friend Kelly at her wedding on Saturday. Kelly and I go WAY back, starting when she took flute lessons from my mom in 6th grade. I was the obnoxious kid that waved at her across the band hall when she went to her lessons. From then, we were friends! We had a joint high school graduation party (that I forgot about until recently), toured SFA together, went to SFA together (for my first year and a half), and lived together in Dallas after college. Kelly stood by my side at my wedding day and I was honored to get to do the same for her! 

We jetted out of Dallas after lunch on Friday and drove down to Palestine, Texas. Population 18,000. Kelly decided to have a semi-destination wedding because a lot of their family members would be coming in from out of town regardless of the location, so she chose the venue and place she liked best. 

I can't believe it, but I'm going to have to break these posts up because I took so many pictures! We were there from Friday at 3pm - Saturday at 10pm and I have enough pictures to warrant multiple posts. Unbelievable! 

Anyway, after trying out the B&B scene in New Orleans, Mark and I opted to go the same route for this wedding in Palestine. We have found that you can typically pay the same rate as a hotel but get amped service, cozy lodging, and a good breakfast at a B&B. This one did NOT disappoint!

We opted for the best reviewed B&B in town: Magnolia Street Inn. The house was built in 1874 and of course, it's been updated with all of the modern comforts of 2014. It was gorgeous!

The grounds were well kept and flourishing with flowers and plants. The innkeeper does her own garden and not only do they not have any water restrictions, but she said she hasn't watered all year!!! Considering it was a muggy 90 degrees while we were there, that is amazing!

I think it's a given that all B&B's require a cat, and this one just happened to come with Mark's idea of a perfect dog. Seriously, he got all giddy when he saw Buddy for the first (and second and third) time. Buddy is a blue heeler mixed with possibly a shepherd (? says the innkeeper) and he had all of the characteristics that Mark wanted in a dog. Spotty, ears that stand up, calm mannered, stocky, and long tail. The innkeeper told us about 5 times that "you can have him!" but we adamantly answered that we do NOT need another dog. 

...and then this happened when I left Mark alone for 6 hours before the wedding:

 No worries, Mark didn't disobey and we returned home to just ONE dog. 

Anyway, the house was gorgeous and provided lots of photo ops. I just couldn't stop!

We stayed on the second floor in the Dogwood Room, behind that bay window up there.

Once I walked in, my voice got really high and I flipped out over the bathroom. It was so spacious, airy, feminine, and just AHHHHHH! Loved it. 

There was a little foyer area as well where we could drop our keys and cameras and it was a nice entry into the room.

Here's Mark doing what he does best...and also the majority of the room. it was hard to get a picture of but it was nice and comfortable!

We looked out over Magnolia Street and I thought this view of the church through the shades was just so pretty and picturesque!

We really enjoyed our stay at this B&B and wished we would have had more time to relax there, but it was the perfect trip. Breakfast was delicious and we were within walking distance of downtown, which I'm sharing next on the blog!

One more thing...after our last B&B stay, I figured we should start a collection/tradition of taking a picture of me on the porch of the house to commemorate our trip. Admittedly, it was super humid the whole time (thanks, East Texas) and my camera lens was fogging up, but it could be solved with a simple wipe on the shirt. Regardless, this is the best Mark could do:

Notice the fog on the edges? When I asked him about it, he said he thought it was just on the viewer and wouldn't show up on the pictures.......sigh.

We had a great weekend in Palestine and it was a welcome breath of fresh country air. Be back for more travel pics later!

Happy Monday!

Five on Friday, 2014 volume 9

Phew! What a week it has been! 

It's Friday now, so that means five on Friday!!! 

-one-

I finally finished watching the third season of Scandal. This season was kind of slow, but I feel like they could go a million ways after the season finale! If you haven't watched Scandal I suggest you do!

-two-

I'm obsessed with these treats. They are one of my two favorite desserts EVER. Seriously. I eat the whole pan within about 2 days! #fatgirlproblems

I'll post the recipe another day!

-three-

I had such a fun weekend with these two last weekend and we are going to make this one another one for the books! We are off to explore Fort Worth to celebrate Jayde's birthday and Jody's graduation from Aveda!

-four-

We have finally, FINALLY decided on a vacation. Mark married an adventurous girl (when it comes to going places) and we have been waffling over vacation spots for about 6 months. We are trying to do it on a budget and we finally found a good deal!

We are going to California in September for 4 days. We are staying at a resort on the beach in Oxnard, which is halfway between Malibu and Santa Barbara. The flexible plans include driving up and down the PCH, visiting Malibu, Santa Barbara, and the island of Santa Cruz for hiking, kayaking, and hopefully some whale watching, plus possibly a trip to wine country! In our spare time, we will be soaking up the California sun at the beach and in the pool. I can't WAIT! Please give me any tips or must-sees in the area!

-five-

Most importantly,

travel diaries: throwback to Austin

Okay, we are going a little further back today on the blog.

Among other reasons, a big factor of my blogland absence was the overall busy feeling April brings. Mark and I happen to be blessed with 7 immediate family birthdays in April. When we aren't running from party to event to function, April seems to fill up with other things - like spontaneous trips to Austin.

I had a close knit group of girlfriends for my first few years in Dallas. Last year within 6 months of each other, all 3 of my closest friends up and moved away. Insert sad face here.

Brittany moved to Arkansas with a job transfer, Heather moved to Houston with a job transfer and the appeal of being close to home, and Emily also moved back home to Houston and has since moved to London, England for a 6 month stint. 

We still keep in touch randomly depending on the day, and I happened to be chatting casually with Heather on a Wednesday in April. We were discussing weekend plans and she asked me if I wanted to go to Austin. She and Brittany would be there from Saturday-Monday to attend a college friend's wedding. It took me about 5 minutes to agree to meet them on Saturday, spend a whirlwind 24 hours together, and come home on Sunday. 

I left about 9am on Saturday and got to Austin at noon. The other two moseyed in between 1pm and 3pm and we got dressed and headed out for a mid-afternoon Mexican snack. We met up with Kassie and spent the rest of the night catching up, laughing, and making memories!

After a little adventure and an early night back at the hotel, we got some good sleep and headed out for brunch on Sunday morning.

We happened upon some wisteria that was too perfect not to get a photo in front of!

Brunch of choice : Bacon.

Yes, this restaurant's main focus was bacon. It was a fun, typically Austin place and we loved it!

After brunch, we decided to be extremely touristy so we headed to the Austin sign to take some pictures. I did my college internship in Austin in 2009 for a couple months but never found this sign, so I really wanted to make it happen!

A random shot of Austin beauty.

Heather was being slightly grumpy pants that day...

...but then she and Brittany provided me a candid insight into what I think can sum up our emotions of the weekend:

*note coolest family ever pictured in the background

These girls were so much fun and what seemed like a pointless trip to Austin turned into a fun weekend of nothing but a fun and relaxing trip with some great girls!