Long Overdue Louisiana Update

Sorry for the delay in my weekend recap, it has been crazy since I returned from Louisiana. I have been catching up on work, grocery shopping, laundry and cleaning & shopping in preparation for David's friends coming stay the weekend at our place, and of course David's 27th birthday was Tuesday!

Last weekend we went to visit my family in Louisiana! We left Austin around 11:30 a.m. Friday morning arrived to our destination around 5 p.m.

Riley & Kingston in their car seats, asleep in the backseat. Kingston is still not fully house trained and David was really worried about his new leather seats, so we loaded the back with my old thick pottery barn mat.




We headed to Grand Casino Coushatta for all you can eat crawfish, we gambled playing the slots and won 280 off 40 bucks nice! I forgot my camera at in car and we parked a good ways or I would have taken pics of the crawfish!

Saturday we hung out with my family all day was nice to get up whenever (my mom handled feeding and taking the puppies out)and just sip coffee while reading the morning paper, things I could do in Austin on a Saturday morning but for some reason it just felt more relaxing to do there. In the evening we headed to DI's Cajun Restaurant which is about 30 minutes from my hometown.




It is in the middle of rice fields filled with crawfish traps and the food is very bad for you but taste so good!



We had a reservation on the dance floor there was a Zydeco band and people Cajun French dancing all around us.

Sunday we attended a benefit for my cousin Aly 14,000 dollars was raised!

We left Louisiana around 2 p.m on Sunday. Kingston was ready to go sleeping in my Betsey Johnson luggage.




We arrived back in Austin around 7:45 p.m.




The trip was fun and relaxing but exhausting at the same time, I wish I had taken off Monday as well just to rest.

In Louisiana, my mom knew I had been searching so she purchased me a pack of the fabulous Abita Strawberry Lager



This weekend David has friends coming in town to celebrate his birthday a few days late, we plan to go downtown. Even though I will be the only girl in a group of boys I am so excited to get dressed up and go out!

David & I still do not really know that many people in Austin aside from our coworkers so I can not wait to have real friends around for the weekend!

Awards, Aly, & Work

I was given the Neno award by Yours Truly , Have Yourself a Little Fabulous Funshine, and That's Sassy . Thanks Ladies!!



I am supposed to say why I love blogging: I love to share my ideas, thoughts, opinions and life. I love connecting with so many amazing people who have the same interests as myself. I am grateful to have such wonderful support on my blog. I appreciate each and every one of my readers and all you have taught me.

Now I would like to pass the award along to:

All things Fluffy...Fashion... Famous!

French Kiss

La Mia Vita

The Preppy Polka Dot



My little 14 year old cousin Aly who you can read about on these websites here and here who had the heart transplant then complications mentioned on my blog here and here finally returned home from the hospital stay due to rejection of her new heart she received in November she was hospitalized January 30-April 9, she was doing well but was air lifted to Cleveland from her home in Toledo, Ohio yesterday she was passing out and her heart was racing, the doctors orginally thought her medication may be causing her to release too much potassium in her urine, but today she was placed back in ICU they think her body is again rejecting her new heart. Please keep her in your prayers!

My boss informed me they will outsourcing some of the credentialing and payroll part of my job so that I can focus more on recruiting, this will cut back a lot of the stress! I am not sure of how soon that would happen, but the CEO of my company was coming in tomorrow but will now be here next Thursday instead!

Lazy Weekend

Saturday Riley went to the groomers, and Kingston had his last round of puppy shots. In the afternoon David & I headed to Ikea to buy outdoor furniture, we settled on this set for our balcony.



The next project for the balcony is to get plants, I still have lots of open space on the balcony especially the front sides



Sunday we had breakfast outside, the boys really enjoyed playing on the balcony.






Don't let this sweet face fool you, he is a little terror.



This weekend, David & I are headed home to Louisiana to visit my family, eat boiled crawfish, go to a real cajun restaurant complete with a reservation for a table on the Zydeco dance floor. Friday I was going into work until 10 a.m. but this morning my boss informed he would do my reports so I can sleep in late and have all of Friday off, so far this week is off to a fabulous start!

Lexus IS 250 & More Wine

Thanks for the support from the last post, it is so good to know I am not the only one feeling this way!

To answer the question about the colored Deviled eggs in the last post, I bought them that way at Whole Foods, so I can't take credit.

Unlike me, David does not have a low paying entry-level job problem.

So when his car was totaled due to the hail storm. He knew he wanted a Lexus IS or an Infinity G37, he test drove both and decided to go with luxury over speed.

David now owns a fully loaded Lexus IS 250.

Here is his new baby, that I am happy to drive for him anytime :)



Lexus gave him a bottle of wine for the purchase!



And we also attended a wine tasting at our complex last night, so much fun. I would have taken pictures but no one else was and it was a seated event, so I did not want to be the only one snapping away!

Tini Swap & Easter Plans

I participated in Drew & Ashley's Martini Swap with NYC H.I.T.

I received a pink & green Martini Glass. Love it! My old sorority colors are pink & green so it was perfect!



I sent NYC H.I.T. a Girls' Best Friend Martini Glass.



My favorite part was the Girl's Best Friend Martini recipe printed on the bottom.



What is everyone doing for Easter?

David & I are staying in Austin.

We are visiting my family in Lake Charles, LA the last weekend in April. We would go this weekend, but it is a long drive (10 hours total for there and back) to do on just Saturday & Sunday, possibly more if you count holiday traffic that Houston will surely have.

The drive to New Orleans to visit David's family is just too far of a drive as well (18 hours total for there and back ) to do in 2 days.

Sure we could always fly, Riley (the miniature schnauzer) could but kenneled but our new baby Pug, Kingston, has not had all his shots yet, so we can not kennel him nor take him on a plane. It will be weird to spend a holiday with just David. His sister lives in Austin, but they are going to Bilouxi for the weekend.

I am planning a menu for Sunday, so far I have Creme Brulee from Central Market for desert....suggestions anyone? I'm a pretty good cook, not to brag or anything :) So I am sure it will be a great meal once I fully plan it out.

We are also dying eggs, playing racquetball, super spring cleaning...I'll return with pictures next week!

oh and one more thing....I can't wait to have Starbucks & It's A Grind again...I officially made it through all of lent without one slip up!!

I did it

I joined Twitter.

Find me here !

Follow me there, and let me know if you have twitter so I can follow you!

And tweeting tips? I just signed up yesterday and I am still trying to figure it all out.

That is all for now! I'll be back tomorrow with a real blog update :)

Crawfish Time!

This weekend just flew by, I will be super busy at work this week. I am a recruiter in the health field, and we are always busy during the holidays. Nurses will want off Good Friday & Easter this weekend, so hospitals and clinics will be calling the office with shift needs all this week. Dealing with staffing the health industry where hospitals never close, also means we do not close, we even have on call staff to take care of after hour needs. So I will unfortunately be working on Good Friday while most everyone else has off.

Swamp Thing & Crawfish Festival did not have Abita Strawberry Harvest, but I will be checking Whole Foods & Central Market this week, I am on a mission!

We had a blast though! For food we had boiled crawfish,



crawfish monica, crawfish crab cakes. Cafe Du Monde had a beignet stand but I was beyond full, but now I regret not getting them.


We also had large drinks, they had Hurricanes but I am not a fan so I opted for a strawberry & pina colada mix in mine.



In addition to food and drinks they had carnival rides and bands playing cajun music!




We ate, we drank, we danced...I loved it!



The festival made me really wish I had gone home for Mardi Gras!!

Swamp Thing & Crawfish Festival

Austin is having a Louisiana Swamp Thing & Crawfish Festival tomorrow!



Taken from the site:

It's all about the food and the music! This popular Louisiana themed event features the best in Louisiana cuisine prepared by concessionaires from Louisiana and Texas. Enjoy an extensive menu of Cajun seafood. The highlight of the show is 6000 pounds of jumbo crawfish and other bayou favorites. Enjoy dancers, juju mamas, and lots of beads and tokens. Music includes Cajun, Zydeco, Funk, Brass Bands, Blues, Rock, & Jazz. Belly dancers and late night burlesque shows will add to the excitement.


David & I are going along with my coworker and her bff. I can not wait to have boiled crawfish and other great cajun food! It will be a special treat considering Austin is health city USA. Whole Foods Market wasn't invented here for nothing. I can indulge this one day :)



I really wanted to see Cowboy Mouth . They are my favorite local New Orleans band. The played last year at this festival, but sadly it does not look like they will be performing at the festival this time.

I'm hoping to also get some Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager !

Central Market sells Abita but so far no Strawberry kind in sight.



Have a great weekend everyone, I'll return with lots of pictures from my Louisiana Adventure in Austin.