Five on Friday: 2014 vol. 2

It's another Friday! Go link up with April for Five on Friday, and read my five for the week below!

-one-

I purchased one of these chairs last weekend for the living room... Which one do you think it was?

Check back next week for the answer!

-two-

My parents are coming into town tomorrow for dinner and a little visit (they live about an hour away so we try to plan visits every month or so but usually see them more than that). Like most things in my life, the visit is centered around food. This time we are going to Frankie's, a tex-mex place my dad has been talking about since we moved here. His work buddy has family that lives in the area and they have shared suggestions. Frankie's is in the same shopping center as Shady's, the cute burger place I blogged about here a while ago. Can't wait to see what my parents think of it!

-three-

Today my friend Emily takes off for LONDON via Istanbul! Go over here to her blog and wish her safe travels and good luck across the pond! I've urged her to blog WAY more while she is living over there so throw in a word or two for me. 

Also, I'll be accepting donations for our future trip to visit her so just email me for details. ;)

-four-

My birthday is coming up in a few weeks and while I typically don't think much of it, this year I keep coming across things that I'd love to have! Mark has gotten tired of my subtle texts, but here are a few things I've hinted at...

Mark has bought me my last two Vera Bradley makeup bags and I really like them! They end up wearing out after awhile and I'm well overdue.

I've been really into shoes lately and I totally swoon over these! Aren't they magical!??

I just about died over this purse when I found a look-a-like at Francesca's...I asked for one for Christmas but didn't get it so now I've moved on to the real deal. Still loving Emerald Green!

I think it's about time for me to upgrade from my iPhone pics to a real camera. I've had my thoughts on a DSLR for a while and I'm starting to really think I need one! I told Mark to buy used and maybe go halvesies with a family member, but we will see...:)

I love my necklaces from J Crew and this one is so pretty! 

...and I almost bought these myself the other day when they were having a sale, but I resisted. LOVE!!!

-five-

This was today:

...and this is the weekend forecast. I feel like God is just giving us a sign (in the form of warmer weather) that we better make good use of this weekend! It's back to work and heavy coats on Monday!

 

So, how should I make the weekend productive? What are you guys doing?

Whatever it is, have a happy weekend! :)

icemaggedon 2013

Happy Monday everyone!

If you live in north Texas or anywhere north or east of it, you might have experienced some winter weather this weekend. We had a huge cold front come in on Thursday night and from then on it was often referred to 'icemaggedon' or 'icepocalypse'. 

Texans tend to exaggerate the weather a bit, but this time the forecast was spot on. A LOT of freezing rain, sleet and minimal snow came down all through Friday morning and the temps hovered in the 20's. Parts of the area got 3+ inches of pure ice coating everything outdoors. 

Luckily our area was slightly spared and we only got about 1.5 inches, but it was enough to basically shut down the city and make driving a mess. Mark managed to catch a flight home from Las Vegas (he was there for Autodesk University) late Thursday right as the freeze started and we were holed up in our house after that. 

I worked from home on Friday and really enjoyed the zero-commute, work in leggings and a sweatshirt feel of it all. I was able to get way more done at work and around the house, too. Mark kept up the work on the kitchen and we're thiisss close to being able to reveal it!

Early in the day on Friday, I looked out the window and saw our beautiful tree's limbs resting oh so gently on our main power lines from the alley to the house. I immediately had visions of lost power and asked Mark wide-eyed to see if he could do anything about it. He put on his layers and went out to trim small limbs off the tree so the branch would raise up and not rest on our power lines. He was out there for a couple hours, at least! Yay for Mark and his chivalrous acts! ;) Luckily we had power throughout the whole storm, unlike many of our Dallas neighbors. 

Here are some images of our 3 day weekend at home:

8am : snow day!

(notice the limbs resting on the power lines!)

icy streets!

First winter weather in the new house!

Winter weather is my only excuse for wearing these knock-off Uggs. Otherwise, I just can't bring myself to do it! (Don't worry, Mark wouldn't allow me to, even if I wanted!)

On Saturday afternoon, we ventured out for some essentials and tested the roads a bit...

...Essentials were trim, paint, and other household items for the kitchen, of course! :)

Church services were cancelled on Sunday so we went back to Home Depot to get our Christmas tree!

It was Mark's first 'real' tree and we had fun picking out the best one.

Back home and ready to decorate for Christmas! But first, some homemade soup...

...mmmm!!! 

I really enjoyed the forced relaxation and got a lot of things done at home! I foresee a cold winter ahead for north Texas.

I hope all of my local friends stayed safe and warm!

Stay tuned this week for a Christmas decor post and the post we've all been waiting for....the kitchen reveal!

Have a great week!