The Pirate's Booty Winner is....

The winner of the Pirate's Booty giveaway has been selected using random.org.

The winner is #11



Comment #11




Congrats to Jocelyn from Running With High Heels On . Please send your info over to me at texancouture@gmail.com so that I can forward over to Pirate's Booty to mail out your prize.

If you didn't win this time check back next week for a Chobani giveaway and then an Amy's giveaway the following week!

Anyone have any fun plans for the weekend? David & I are taking a miniroad trip just to get out of Austin for the weekend. It should be fun!

Wine Tasting & Whole Foods Salad bar

I apologize for the quality of photos. I took them on my iphone conspicuously no one was taking pics with cameras at the Wine Tasting or in Whole Foods lol so I didn't want to look crazy!

Last night my complex where I live had a wine tasting hosted by Becker Vineyards

I learned a lot of cool stuff and my favorite wine by them is the Viognier. It was a bit softer than a Chardonnay. I will be going to my local Twin Liquors to buy it soon!

The one pictured here was a Grenache I did not care for the taste.





After tasting: Viognier, Granache,Cabernet Sauvignon & Zinfandel I was bit tipsy and did not want to cook dinner, so we made our way to Whole Foods.

I opted for the Salad Bar



David choose a Barton Springs sandwich & a small salad.



This is what I came home with




It contained dill pasta, red leaf lettuce, carrots, cheese, broccoli, bits of hard boiled egg, kale, tomatoes & cucumber. Along with a lemon green tea!


Today is also the last day to enter my Pirate's Booty Giveaway found here

Meet the Pomelo & Amazing Grass

I picked this big guy up at Sprouts when I did my weekly grocery shopping.

I feel like it is almost half the size of my head!



A Pomelo is what is used to create the grapefruit, which is a hybrid cross between a pomelo & an orange. The Pomelo is native to South East Asia.

I plan to have it as a snack after work so I will let you know how it taste!

Amazing Grass sent me a few products to review this morning I tried the Pomegranate Mango Amazing Meal...



I mixed it with water shook it up and to me the taste was a little grainy so I could not tell much of the flavor, on the back of the packet it says you can mix it with milk or in a smoothie. I think next time I will put it in a blender and mix it with milk.



I have received questions about what gym I belong to, I go to Life Time Fitness it is pretty awesome!! It has everything thing you could want in a gym and more! Swimming pool indoor & out both with water slides a smoothie bar at the outdoor pool, sauna, a Cafe, an Aveda Spa, tons of equipment & lots of group classes. If there is one in your area I highly recommend joining.

Have you ever tried a Pomelo? What is your favorite fruit?

Don't forget to enter my Pirate's Booty Giveaway here . Winner will be announced Friday morning!

Pirate's Booty Giveaway!!

Pirate's Booty sent me a treasure chest full of loot!



It contained the flavors: Veggie, Crunchy Corn Sticks, Sour Cream and Onion, Sea Salt & Vinegar, New York Pizza, Aged White Cheddar, Real Wisconsin Cheddar & Barbeque.

Look for my reviews as I eat my way through the bags and a full review once I am done.

If you would like to win the same chest you have until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday January 28th to submit entries. The Winner will be announced Friday morning.

***You have 4 ways to enter, you do not have to do all 4 to enter each is a separate entry and please lease a separate comment for each to be counted as an entry!

1. Leave a comment telling me which flavor you would like to try (1 entry)
2. Leave a comment telling me you have become a follower or that you are already a follower (1 entry)
3. Leave a comment telling me you have tweeted about this giveaway (1 entry)
4. Leave a comment telling me you have posted about this giveaway on your blog (1 entry)

Good Luck to all!

Intro To Cycle & Pure Bars

After I expressed my love for Pure Bars which I purchased the other week at Sprouts the great people over at Pure were kind enough to send me a 12 pack of Pure Bars!

I received the flavors: Chocolate Brownie, Apple Cinnamon, Wild Blueberry, Trail mix, Cranberry Orange & Cherry Cashew.



Pure Bars are raw and vegan, contain a full serving of fruit, organic protein, rich in Omega-3s. They do not contain any refined sugars, dairy, soy, cholesterol or trans fats.

To fuel up before an hour before heading to my Intro To Cycle class at my gym I had the Apple Cinnamon Bar ( in addition to my bagel and Tofutti cream cheese I had earlier in the morning)





It only has 190 calories it was the perfect snack to not weigh me down before working out. But my one complaint is the texture in this flavor was a little off compared to others I have tried in the past. I will be reviewing these bars as I eat them but look for an overall review once I am done.

Let me just say even though it is called Intro To Cycle it kicked my Boo-tay! What a way to start a Saturday morning. I will surely be headed back to that class next weekend!

We had plans to go to a Vegetarian restaurant instead we grabbed a quick lunch at my Gym's cafe.



We had lots of errands to do grocery shopping & outfit shopping. My corporate office is being moved from Dallas to Orlando as new executives are taking over so I needed new work clothes to look super professional for when they stop by our office! I never turn down a reason to shop!

Today I need to bathe the dogs, clean the house, head back to the gym for cardio & I plan to do the Shred at home after I finish catching up on blogs!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a Pirate's Booty Giveaway!

And the Winner is...

How is everyone's week going? I am so happy it almost the weekend!


I have fun things planned for this weekend. I am taking an Intro To Cycle class at my gym on Saturday morning. Does anyone have any advice on good indoor cycling shoes?

I also have plans to visit a vegetarian restaurant, trying a new self serve frozen yogurt place that opened by me and switch up the running to hiking and take the doggies on a hike with my boyfriend looking forward to that!

Now on to the Popchips Winner.... "Fist Pumps All Around" in honor the season finale of "Jersey Shore" my very guilty pleasure!


I used Random.org where I entered numbers 1 - 34 and it choose number 28






Comment # 28




ktbwood be sure to send me your contact information asap to "texancouture@gmail.com" so I can send your information over to Popchips and they will mail you out your prize!!

Don't worry if you did not win this time I have partnered with Pirate's Booty & Chobani to bring you giveaways for the next 2 weeks! Be sure to check back for those!!

King Cakes, Wedding, Brunch & a Giveaway!!

Friday after long rainy day at work I came home to not 1 but 2 King Cakes shipped over from Louisiana by my mom.



We already dug in before I could get a good picture, How I miss living in New Orleans for Mardi Gras season!


Saturday David & I attended his coworker's wedding in the small town of El Campo, TX which is about a 2 1/2 - 3 hour drive from Austin. There were 425 people in attendance.

It was a beautiful traditional Catholic wedding the reception was held in a civic center because of so many guests. The space was huge! A Mariachi band played before the reception began, David & I participated in a Grand March which I have never done in Louisiana weddings we usually do what is a called a 2nd line so it was interesting to participate in a different type of wedding tradition, after the Grand March another live full band played. We had a great time with the wine flowing freely!







Sunday David surprised me with brunch at my favorite restaurant in Austin Jaspers .

I had a Bloody Mary with Vanilla French Toast





While David had Pecan Crusted Trout with Molasses Sweet Potatoes.



There was also fried green tomatoes that were shared and not pictured.

And now I am proud to announce my very first giveaway!

Popchips, one of my favorite food brands, is giving one lucky reader a 24-mixed case of single serve bags of popchips!! That is some serious snacking!



There are a couple of ways to send in entries:

1. Head over to www.popchips.com then leave a comment telling me what flavor you would like to try.
2. Tweet about this giveaway (leave a seperate comment telling me you have done so)
3. Post about this giveaway on your blog (leave a seperate comment telling me you have done so)
4. Become a follower (leave a seperate comment telling me you have done so)

The winner will be annouced Thursday morning. Good Luck!!

Going Green & Swaps

Sprouts Farmers Market just opened up in my neighborhood and I fell in love.


The produce, deli and bulk items are super cheap!! The prices of regular items vary for instance Amy's Spicy Chili is 30 cents higher than at Whole Foods but Coconut Water is 30 cents cheaper than Whole Foods so it is give and take but not to mention all the savings on produce, deli & bulk balance it out regardless.

I found Pure Bars which I have been wanting to try after seeing them on all the food blogs I know Jenna at Eat Live Run is a huge fan



Caramel Bites & Chocolate covered Cherries



My new favorite tea Mangosteen Green Tea!



Veggie wrap & salads which will make perfect lunches to bring to work





This is only a small sample of the food I purchased.



Did I mention the bags they give you are reusable love it (Yes I came home with a lot of goodies)


I pass Sprouts on my way home from work every day super convenient!


I have also been getting back to the gym. I think I want to start taking more group classes.



Yes I know I am a bad blogger for not using a reusable water bottle, but Austin water taste like dirt even Brita can not help it but I do recycle!

I can not wait until temps warm up and I can run outside again! I do not have warm enough running gear to do outside runs. I am working on purchasing some better winter running clothes. I need to make a trip to the Nike outlet when I have time.

Just had to share my amazing lunch it is the Mediterranean platter from Tom's Tabooley here in Austin, I purchased at Whole Foods. so good and filling can't wait to dig in at my desk!




P.S. Loves Of Life is hosting a Valentines Day Swap , Join in it will be fun!

Top Siders

My favorite pair Sperry Top Siders were destroyed this past Fall at the Austin City Limits Music Festival with the rain and mud.

This pic is after just one walk around the grounds, they were way worse by the end of the day, sadly there was no saving them I have to throw them away.



But I am happy to announce I am in love with this pair found here that Sperry has designed for J. Crew I ordered mine in soft sandalwood.

2010

Happy 2010! I hope everyone had a great NYE! I know mine was pretty amazing!





Now on resolutions, I decided to list 10 for well 2010

10. Eat less meat. in high school & for most of college I was a vegetarian even with all the exams & parties I feel like i had way more energy than I do now so I would like to try it again but I love burgers.

9. Learn Something New. I miss college although I enjoy being out of school and do not want to go back any time soon. I miss learning new things. I have no idea what I want to learn but it will be something.

8. Enjoy Life More. After all the deaths and sadness of 2009 I feel like I need to appreciate life to it's fullest and get rid of any pessimistic moods that may come my way.

7. Be more productive at work. I do a good job and I know it but I want to go way above the expected. We have plans to move to Dallas in the Fall so I want to get the best reference there is because I'm sure Dallas job market will have lots of competition.

6. Save more money. I waste money for example we buy groceries then end up eating out for the majority of our meals so the fresh produce goes to waste and we have to throw it away.

5. Run more. I was running machine then will all the stress last year I lost motivation and I have slacked off and I have been running only twice a week.

4. Get back to healthy. This ties into eating better, not eating out as much and running more often.

3. Get More Organized. I am an unorganized mess! Last week I had the time wrong and showed up late to my hair/waxing appointment and the girl doing my eyebrows had come in on her day off to do them. She had to wait until I had the color in my hair taking away from her day off. I felt terrible!! I have a super cute new Lilly Pulitzer planner I need to write in it more and refer to it more this year.

2. Help Others. Christmas 2008 David & I volunteered at Texas Children Home and it was a great feeling! Unfortunately all we did for 2009 was donate to Goodwill & Salvation Army. I would like for us to actually do more for the community.

1. Spend more time with Family & Friends. I would like to make more trips to Louisiana to see my family & def New Orleans to see all my friends. I miss them so much!


P.S. Does anyone else love the Lady Gaga & Beyonce song "Telephone"?