The "Show Me" State

After Aaron left last Wednesday, we continued our remodeling in our master bathroom. We're on the homestretch now. Chris finished grouting the floor tile last night and it looks great. It's funny how such a simple step like that can make a difference and how it looks more complete now. We have painting left to do, as well as installing the vanity, sink top, toilet, cabinet, and mirror. When it's finished I'll post a "before" and "after" so you can see the updates we've made.

Saturday my neighbor and I combined a bunch of our stuff and had a garage sale. It was interesting to see our two different selling techniques. She sold a lot of things for less money and didn't make much. I sold less items for more money, so I made more mulah. It was kind of annoying having to bring a bunch of my things back inside after it was over, but Chris and I's junk gave us a profit of $200, so it felt a little more rewarding.

I've been working a lot lately, but have been really enjoying it. I remember wondering what it would be like to be a "real working woman" and thinking the transition would be pretty terrible, but it hasn't been bad at all. I think if you find something you really love, then doing it all day long every day isn't such a tragedy afterall.

I'm looking forward to going to Missouri this weekend. Andy and Mandy are picking me up from the airport in St. Louis, and we've got the Rowden Reunion to go to on Saturday. We missed going last year, and even though Chris isn't able to go this year, I'm excited for the family time coming up.

ACL

Aaron came in town for the ACL Fest this weekend. Here are a few pictures.

I like this random guy expressing himself in our photo.

Rachel's Shower

Last Saturday, before we left for Indiana, I hosted a shower for my friend who is due with baby Jaxson Reese in just 5 weeks. It was lots of fun to prepare pretty finger foods for the party.

Proscuitto-wrapped melon balls of cantalope with Manchego

Mini Corn Pancakes with Guacamole and Tomato Brunnoise

Brownie Bites dipped in Milk Chocolate, dusted with powdered sugar & Lemon Mousse Tartlets

Goat Cheese stuffed Snow Peas

Bacon-wrapped shrimp with pepper jack cheese

"I'm Going Back to Indiana, Indiana Here I Come"

Chris had a recruiting fair to attend at Purdue this week, and we decided to buy me a plane ticket, too. It was fun to get away and spend time with friends. Not many are left at Purdue, except for staff we worked with at Purdue Christian Campus House. I got to get together with my four, beloved high school girl friends. Below: Michelle, me, Jenny, Susan, Stephanie. It was so great to reconnect with them. It really blesses me every time I get to see them. We have all known each other for many years, so it's really cool to see the bond that we still have even though we live miles apart.
Jenny and I got to spend some quality time together this weekend. She was in Guatemala for the summer. I love her so much. God has absolutely blessed the both of us with our friendship over the past year. It really amazes me.

Master Bathroom

Here's our progress thus far. Doesn't look like much, but a lot has been accomplished! We finished the tub surround tiling last night together. I think it looks great. We haven't done the grout yet though.

Fun Weekend

Stephanie and I have known each other since 6th grade when we "played" softball together...or rather, we met as we sat the bench together. That's more accurate. We have been great friends ever since. We went through middle school and high school together and grew up in the same youth group at church. She graduated from Ball State in May, so she and her boyfriend, Kyle came this weekend to visit us. It was lots of fun.

Wanna Laugh? Watch This.

Louie's 106

Tonight was Date Night for us and we had dinner at Louie's 106 downtown next to the Driskill. We had: App- proscuitto wrapped mission figs stuffed with blue cheese with balsamic reduction. We got a bottle of Matua Valley 2006 Sauvignon Blanc to pair nicely with our seafood dishes of: (me) Seafood Risotto (mussels, shrimp, scallops, salmon, calamari), and (Chris) a trout dish. Afterwards, we walked around downtown, then shared a banana split at the Driskill Bakery Cafe.

What We've Been Up To

The Study is complete.

Facelift to the flower bed out front.Our current project: Master Bathroom. This is the damage we did yesterday.

Making Time for Marriage

In the past 48 hours I have put in 30 hours of work. My boss has been out of town this week, so I've taken on normal weekly clients, plus I did two events, one yesterday, one today. Friday night's was a cooking lesson/demo for a group of 10-year old girls at Camp Little A on Lake LBJ. I taught them to make meatballs, a cream reduction sauce, pasta, steamed broccoli, a salad, and garlic bread. They were a fun bunch of girls. Oh to be 10 again. Last night's event was a 40th birthday party out in Cedar Park. I had been to that client's house before for a shower, and they asked me back to do a bunch of hor d' eouvres and some wine pairings. It was a late night, but fun.

Chris and I are back to our remodeling after a couple months break. We are currently working on the master bathroom. Today we're going to pick out tile for the wall and floor.

Making Time For Marriage:
We have made a few drastic changes to our lives lately due to our desire to really focus on our marriage. Things have been kind of hard for awhile, mostly because of stresses from work and being over-committed in a few areas. We've decided to act instead of react. We've been reminded that our covenant marriage is of the utmost importance and that it is really worth fighting for. We feel that God has really blessed those decisions and given us extra doses of unity lately. It's been good.

You are Good - Nichole Nordeman

Have you ever heard a song that as you listened, your heart shouted,
"Thank You, Jesus!"? This is one of those for me...
(Video posted for listening purpose only! Ignore super-cheesy Christianness.)

"You Are Good"--Nicole Nordeman

When the Sun starts to rise and I open my eyes
You are Good, So Good
In the heat of the day with each stone that I lay
You are so Good

With every breath I take in
I'll tell You I'm grateful again
When the moon climbs high
before each kiss good night
You are Good

When the road starts to turn around each bend I've learned
You are good, So Good
And when somebody's hand holds me up, helps me stand
You are...So Good

With every breath I take in, I'll tell You I'm grateful again
'Cause It's more than enough just to know I am loved
and You are Good

So how can I thank You? What can I bring?
What can these poor hands lay at the feet of the King?
So I'll sing You a love song.
It's all that I have to tell You
I'm grateful for holding my life in Your hands.

When it's dark and it's cold and I can't find my soul
You are Good, So Good
When the world has gone gray and the rain's here to stay
You are STILL Good

With every breath I take in I'll tell You I'm grateful again
Though the storms they may swell, even then it is well and
You are Good

So how can I thank You? What can I bring?
What can these poor hands lay at the feet of the King?
So I'll sing You a love song.
It's all that I have to tell You
I'm grateful for holding my life in Your hands

You are holding my life in Your hands

....Does anyone want to learn to play this song so I can sing it??

I've Got a Logo!

A computer graphics friend from Purdue created several for me and I got to choose the one I liked best. This is the fun part of starting a business. :) Also, we've purchased a domain name for the website. Nothing there yet, but here it is: www.tasteandseefinedining.com.

I've created new business cards, and I'm in the midst of getting the logo and "Chef Carey" printed on a coat. It has been fun creating a more professional face. In my spare time I've been doing a lot of reading and research. Next step will be marketing myself, perhaps doing at-cost lunches for businesses to target clients, then cooking!

Psalm 34:8 "Oh taste and see that the Lord is good."

Since July 19th

- We finished the wall in our dining room. It looks great after the paneling being torn down, getting texturized, and painted. Trim still needs painted and put up.

- I've continued enjoying cooking for my client, Nikki. I prepare 9 meals for her each week and she eats on them throughout the week until I see her again the following Tuesday evening. Lots of fun. This is where my creativity flourishes.

- I had 2 interviews and accepted a part-time position as a Foodie at Central Market. I'll start mid-August.

- My family visited for a week. We really loved having them here and they are quite possibly the easiest guests we've had. We got to show them around our city, eat at our favorite restaurants, and take them to our regular hang-out spots. They also got to see me graduate and eat my food. Chris's parents came into town for my graduation, as well. And, we got to help celebrate my Dad turning 60!

- This weekend we had more company--Laura and Josh came from Dallas. Again, fun times.

6 Days and Counting...

Last weekend we finished the office and it looks great! Thanks to our talented friend, Curtis, we now have awesome red oak bookcases. Chris stained them to be the same color as our desk. 5 rooms down, 4 to go!

Marlow is recovering well from his surgery. It's just been hard keeping his activity level down when we can't exercise him yet. That boy is ready to go running again!

I've been meeting once every other week with a friend of mine who has begun to mentor me. She's a mom of 2 and has been married for 7 years. Her walk with Christ and just the wisdom God has given her is a blessing to me.

I had an interview with Central Market this week and was asked to return for a second interview. That will be set up for sometime next week. I applied for a part-time position so that I can keep my current job, which I love.

We are enjoying our garden so much. I keep forgetting to mention that. It was all planted in April and we been enjoying the fruits of our labor for a couple of weeks now. Lush tomatoes; sweet and juicy, the way they should be. We've got a TON of cherry tomatoes. They've just about taken over the entire garden, but there are also some large 3x5 tomatoes that have survived. Yum! Also, 3 different kinds of peppers; banana peppers which are almost ripe, green bell which are almost ripe, and little sweet red peppers. We've already eaten a ton of those. My weekly clients are enjoying tastes of my garden, too. I use them in my cooking often. We also have thyme, chives, and lots of basil. Having a garden is so rewarding. I'm already looking forward to planting new stuff for the fall.

The countdown is on. 6 days until my family visits! Woo hoo! We haven't seen them since Christmas. That's been one of the hardest things about moving away. I now see my parents twice a year. We go up to Indiana once and they come down once. Can't wait. Aaron is coming, too.

Our Puppy Is A Conehead

Marlow got neutered yesterday. He has to wear this cone for a week to 10 days until the stitches are healed! Not fun.

Happy July!

This week I am cooking A LOT since my boss is out of town and I am covering normal clientel by myself...but it's fun. I just have to keep organized since I'm doing parties as big as 60. And I also have to wear good shoes. Since I cook out of my own kitchen, it can seem natural to just have bare feet, but wearing comfortable shoes really helps my joints when I stand for so long.

This weekend has been all about house projects. This was the first weekend in quite awhile that Chris was in town, so he wanted to catch up on some things. We got a lot done together, but the list seems to be never-ending. I guess that's part of being a home owner. We did buy a dishwasher today, so that's a great thing, considering how many dishes I usually do when I cook. It will be delivered Wednesday. And Chris used up some gift cards to Fry's and bought a 20" flat screen monitor so he can now work from home more--or watch 24 on a bigger screen than our TV. :) I won't hate on our 19" TV/VCR combo...we've watched many movies on it. It was afterall, a prize that Chris's dad won in a golf tournament. You can't beat free.

Busy Bee

I have been working so much lately! It's been good though considering my job can be inconsistent at times. The bigger checks are always nice, even though I haven't been caught up on sleep for sometime now. My boss will be out of town all of next week, and I'm taking on 4 events and a normal client, AND I'm starting to cook for my first very own weekly client, aside from my real job. I will be cooking mostly every day all day next week, and when I'm not doing that, I'll be grocery shopping, or making deliveries out to Lakeway.

Tomorrow night I'm taking Chris out on a date to dinner at Cibo's and to see "Ratatouille."

Marlow's Half Birthday

Yesterday Marls turned 6 months. We took him to do his favoite thing...hike and swim at the Greenbelt. He had some filet mignon for dinner, and we also stopped to get him a cup of ice cream on the way home.

I Like To Recap

Quick Recap of Recent Activities:

1. Good friends, Dick and Sandi Butler, were in town last week. I met them for dinner at Z'Tejas and we got to catch up. I saw them last around Christmastime, but it always feels extra special to have friends come from Indiana. They were in Austin for a wedding.

2. Our great friend and a talented carpenter, Curtis, made us two bookshelves for our office. We are going to stain and finish them to be the same color as the desk. They look great and will be the last touches on that room! Finally to get the books off the floor!

3. Kenny Chesney concert! We tailgated beforehand with good friends, Casey and Megan, and enjoyed ourselves despite a major down pour of rain all throughout the concert. Sugarland and Taylor Swift opened!

4. We had a little dinner party last night with our Ford friends. I cooked and we ate. It was fun. They also brought their cute poodles over for Marlow to play with, and that he did.

5. I've been working a TON lately. It's either feast or famine with my job lately, and right now it's Thanksgiving.

Marlow and Chihuahua

This is the sweet face I returned to from our vacation!


And I found this while hiking on the Greenbelt this afternoon.