Your mom makes salsa! So does mine.

48 tomatoes

6 onions

27 peppers.

eleventy billion garlics

38 jars of cant-find-it-better-anywhere-made-with-my-mama hot sauce

happiness.

How dare they.

After the Barbed Rose, we went over to the beach in Galveston.

And stopped here first.

For baked goods of course.

It's not the most beautiful beach in the world, but we have lots of memories here.

Back in the old days (like last summer...and the summer before...and the day we got engaged) we used to go to the beach all day, and then mooch off an outdoor shower at these really nice condos.

I'm talking full blown shampoo conditioner shower in our bathing suits outside this place.

People would come to rinse their feet off and we'd be all, "Sorry, we're showering".

And then we would go to dinner.

But this year, they built a fence around it.

The nerve.

So we had to go sandy and salty.

Good thing I'm not high maintenance...

Except there are no pictures of me to follow.



The Barbed Rose CONTINUED!!!

I got really excited on the end of that title there.

Awkward.

The other day, Devin went for a bike ride (which typically equates to being gone for at least 4 hours) and came home with a delightful surprise!  He had planned an afternoon / evening of fun!  

I use exclamation here because 

a. this is rare (see a.1.)

a.1. not rare because he doesnt care to take me out (see b

b. we did not have to take 45 minutes to decide where to eat.

BECAUSE!

First stop was, yes, The Barbed Rose.

Remember when we went to cooking class and saw the head chef make bread salad and a $200 steak that we got a cubed inch of?!

That Barbed Rose.  Only we didn't go to the fancy dining room.  

Why am I not upset that we didn't go to the fancy dining room on said date that said husband planned for me?

Because this man knows the key to my heart.

And that would be a burger barn.

By the time we got to the delightful town of Alvin, Texas, the lunch rush had come and gone and we were seated on a small shaded deck that we had all to ourselves.

almost.

I'm positive he loved that I took his picture.

This place makes every single thing from scratch.  

Ketchup, buns, pickles...everything.

And you can taste it.

So you can probably imagine how incredible this was...

If you look closely, you can see the mustard seeds.

BECAUSE THEY MAKE THEIR OWN MUSTARD!!

If you look closely here, you can see how I have acquired eleventy billion freckles this summer.

 I think this is right after I shouted SWEET BABY MOSES

Swiss. 

Avocado.

Jalapenos.

Mustard.

Roll.

Don't judge me.

Judge Devin...

That is in fact goat cheese with bacon my friends.

So we stuffed ourselves and I must say, this burger made the top 3 in my frigginridiculouslygood burger list.

And I have had a lot of burgers.

No, like, you don't understand.

I eat a LOT of burgers.

Top 3 right here.

If you are in the Alvin neighborhood, stop by.  

It's worth the trip especially if you're on your way to Galveston.

Which we were.

Stuff our faces, put on a bathing suit.

Ideal.

And one last thing!  Devin and I are in a little contest.  

If you could vote for us, we would love that!  

Go here, like their page and then you can like our picture for some votes!  
You can also go to the blog post here and comment with our names for a vote!
Preesh.

My Half Orange

There's a new duo up to all things good in the photography world at Half Orange Photography.  I dig their style, their effects, their perfect touch so much.  So much.

In Spanish culture, the term for soul mate is la media naranja which means half orange.

And the beauties at Half Orange Photography had a little contest last week- write about why your half orange inspires you to live a fuller life.

So I wrote this about my half orange:

My half orange is my missing piece.
He tells me I can do things I confidently know I cannot do.
He believes that God will use me in humongous ways if I will let Him, and he wants to come along for that ride.
He teaches me something new everyday.
He leads me the way I need to be lead.
He laughs at my jokes, which was, like, #1 on my man requirements.
He asks me how he can love me more, better, deeper.
He sees what I don't see in myself and dares me to dream bigger and bigger and bigger.
He gives the best hugs.
He pushes me in ways I need to be pushed and has changed me in every way I needed to be changed.
And he is a divine blessing that I will get on my knees and thank the sweet Lord for every day for the rest of my life.

It was nice to write about him again.  I haven't written him a letter on here in so long!!

So low and behold, mine was picked as a finalist!


Will you vote for us????


If we win, we get a photo shoot in, of all places, Austin friggin Texas.
We got married in Austin friggin Texas.
And you should know that I am desperate for some amazing photos of us.


Votes count until Thursday and there are tons of ways to vote.  


Check out the contest here.


You will need to like their page first, then you can vote.  NBD.


Got it?


Thank you. 


Now go squeeze your half orange.

The preteen in me had the night of her life.

11 years ago (gross), 6 or so of my friends and I lined up for pictures in front of my house, each of us wearing a tshirt with 5 boys' faces printed on the front.  We piled into a limo as my mom yelled "DON'T STAND UP OUT OF THE SUNROOF!"

I'll give you 1 guess as to what I did right when we turned the corner.

And we unpiled in front of the concert venue with screaming, singing, more screaming, and mostly screaming.

And the Backstreet Boys hit the stage.

It was the best night of my life until June 25, 2011 when we reunited.

Vintage fans.

Callee was the BEST person to go with.  She may or may not be a bigger BSB fan than me.

Her father/daughter dance at her wedding was to Backstreet's Back.

And she and her new husband walked out to The One.

Hardcore.

I think I remember Devin banning BSB from the play list at our wedding.

Best show ever.

And I learned I have no idea how to take pictures at concerts.

So glad to see you out of rehab, buddy.

He can still sing.

Callee thank you for inviting me out for the night of my life.

AJ I'm still mad you didn't pull me on stage and sing to me.  That girl didn't even know the words.