Family Camping Trip - Colorado Bend State Park

We've all needed to breathe a little fresh air around here - especially considering North Texas failed to enforce pollution regulations when it had high levels of air pollution detected - gack!

 Check out Lincoln breathing in the "clean" Texas country air on our way south to camping a few weekends ago. Minneapolis and St. Paul are bustling big cities but with all the parks, lakes, and green spaces you don't always realize you are in a big city. Dallas on the other hand is a city of concrete, highways, and shopping. This sounds bad and it DOES have lots of funky smaller neighborhoods with small businesses booming and great green spaces and patios in a park, just not as much as dear ol' Minneapolis. We've been craving SPACE. Not just green space but air space and our OWN space. We don't really have our own backyard just one we share with the other tenants in our complex. From what we've seen around town though that the little park area we do have is generous compared to others. Most of the really nice neighborhoods don't even have big yards and the homes are just smushed in right next to each other. 

All in all we were craving some breathing room and decided to head down to "hill country." They call it hill country because it is greener, lusher, and hillier than most of the rest of the state and home to most of the Texas State Parks. You can see where it is on the map below. It is mainly the area West of both Austin and San Antonio. The drive from Dallas took about 3 1/2 hours to our campground at Colorado Bend State Park.  

As we drove we saw tons of cattle ranches along the curving country roads. We also stopped in a small town along the way and got an ice-cream cone at the local Dairy Queen as a quick refresher from the heat. This was interesting in itself because, I kid you not, these were some of the items on the menu:

- Catfish Fingers

- Frito Burger (with Frito chips on top of the burger)

- The Dude (Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich) 

Also, as I waited in line to order our small Blizzard, I realized that I would be the only one paying with a credit card. Everyone paid in cash and counted out coins that were jangling in their pockets for the exact amount of their order.  I know this shouldn't be so surprising but it made me realize how I rarely pay with cash....ever, and this town obviously did this all the time. Honey, we aren't in Dallas anymore. 

We continued on our way and finally made it the campsite after a TEN MILE gravel road that I would more accurately call a "rock road" since the smallest gravel was about the size of your fist. Makes for a bumpy entrance to the park for sure. 

We hiked one mile to our campsite (pictured below) and had a great view of the Colorado River flowing below. It was a beautiful site and a beautiful day! 

We had heard of a waterfall that was flowing a few miles up the trails so we got settled then set off to hike to it. We considered letting Lincoln off his leash and use the e-collar but with the risk of poisonous snakes and other things in the brush we decided against it. This was a good choice considering the wild life we saw on this hike!

The Colorado River was very low due to a sever draught across the state. 

Happy Spring! Blooming cacti!

As we got closer to the waterfall it got a bit rockier and more like a desert. 

We finally made it to the falls and Lincoln got to cool off in the water! He was so happy about it after 2 hours of hiking in 90 degree heat! 

Here are the "famous" falls. It was more like a trickle than the brochure let it on to be...but we made it!

I don't have any pictures but on our hike we saw probably 8-10 different ARMADILLOS. I'm not kidding they are the funniest creatures and Lincoln couldn't believe his eyes. He wanted to catch one so bad. 

Back at the campsite we started making dinner and relaxing with a glass of wine. We were at the "primitive" campsites but still wished they had a fire pit, picnic table, or other place to sit down to eat a meal. We ended up sitting on sleeping bag sacks and our little cooler. 

The sunset was pretty on the rocks! This made me think of our float trip for my mom's 60th birthday in Utah! 

All in all I think Lincoln LOVED camping. He loved that there were sticks everywhere, he could play in the water, and he could just watch birds and chase ants at the campsite. 

We were just there one night but it was such a beautiful night. The temperature didn't fall much when the sun set so we took off the rain fly to let more breezes through and lied looking through the mesh of the top of the tent. The moon was full and we were underneath that huge tree. It was just beautiful! Lincoln didn't sleep a wink the whole night. He sat upright just looking out the tent and protecting us. A couple times he would bark and growl at hearing something which is super rare for him. We're pretty sure he scared away a few raccoons from our food. Such a good pup! 

The Nesting Place

Our little family

"It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful." This quote is from a book by Myquillyn Smith called The Nesting Place and it is so perfect for us right now. I read about this book on the blog Gracelaced, one of my favorite blogs, and I want to read it because I think it would calm my heart right now.  Gracelaced is a mom of 6 boys, an artist, follower of Christ, and DIYer. She never pretends she can do everything or anything perfect but continues to find the grace of God in the everyday.  I like her a lot. 

When we moved here to this new townhouse it was such a blank slate. I was so excited to make it beautiful and feel like home too. Since I didn't have a job I spent pretty much every day trying to make it feel like home. I was getting frustrated because I didn't want to spend tons of money on brand new stuff but we had to buy it new since we didn't bring any living room furniture down - we had no where to sit! I would scour the internet for deals on couches and pin living room after living room. I like our living room now but its definitely not complete.  I don't pride myself on my decorating skills but I do my best to make it feel like home. Andy keeps telling me how impressed he is with what I've done to the place which feels good but the house still doesn't feel quite right. 

One thing I am realizing though that a home can never be just bought and put together like a puzzle to look just perfect with THINGS like furniture and knick knacks. A home is not about what's in it, but who is living in it and the memories made there with the ones you love. I like the eclectic look of pieces from all stages of life and places and these items, like framed coasters from MN breweries or Andy's iron fist sculpture, bring character, life, and memories into your home. A home must be built from the inside out, otherwise it's just a house. It can be pretty and functional and needs to be somewhat organized. Lord knows I am definitely calmer in a pretty and organized space, don't get me wrong, but I am realizing that I'm not looking at our home with the right lens. 

I always loved making our house a home in St. Paul. It was a cute house and things worked but it definitely wasn't all perfect. Most of our furniture was from college, passed down from family or friends, or one of our first purchases as a married couple.  I was never truly satisfied with how it looked but I loved how it felt. It had character on its own and didn't need a whole lot of "stuff" to make it work. I can picture myself standing in the kitchen and remembered all the barbecues, New Year's Eve parties, and dinner parties we hosted with friends and family. I go to the front yard and remember picking the currants out of the bushes in June to make currant jam. I remember watching Lincoln sunbathe in the backyard and picking little cherry tomatoes from the garden. I remember training for the Twin Cities Marathon in the summer by running 20 miles solely on the Mississippi. Ahhhhh. So many amazing memories. When I think about that house I think about the memories and great times we had there over the last three years. I don't remember if it was decorated perfectly and what I would have changed and stress over the fact that I never decorated it perfectly. It didn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. 

“...you can’t DIY yourself into loving your home. No amount of painted furniture or stenciled pillows will make you more content with what you have. Creating a beautiful project may bring temporary satisfaction, but unless you look at your home through the right lens, you’ll quickly wonder why you’re still annoyed with your space. ”

— Myquillyn Smith, The Nesting Place

I have decided that a home definitely needs some organization and pretty in order to maintain sanity but I am determined to start looking at our new home with a new lens. I can't compare it to our house in St. Paul because as your first home it can never be replaced or replicated and the memories made there can't be beat. I am determined to do what I can here to decorate and make it feel pretty and work with what we have, but also work harder on making great memories here. I do not want to wait for perfection because a house isn't perfect without the memories and love that is shared inside. I am looking forward to inviting new Texan friends over for dinner (someday), shopping at a street art fair for local art, hosting family and friends from Minnesota, and celebrating anniversaries and birthdays here. In the end, memories shared with the ones you love inside your house is what makes it a home and every day this place feels more and more like home because I am sharing it with the man I love the most and our little fur baby Lincoln who fills us with so much joy.  This is what makes it our new home.  

Dallas Farmers Market

When Andy and I first moved to Dallas we researched all the best places to visit in the city. Among things like the Dallas Zoo, the 6th Floor Museum, and the Dallas Aquarium, was the farmers market! I was so excited because I had heard it was one of the biggest in the country, open 365 days a year, and had not only fresh produce from farmers but also jewelry and art from local artisans. 

We finally made it there a couple weekends ago during one HOT Sunday afternoon (yes it was about 95 degrees). There were sooooo many vendors! It was fun to see stands with so much delicious fruit and vegetables. 

There are four sheds. One is for fresh produce, another commercial produce (I'm not sure the difference here), another for local artisans, and finally one more that is air-conditioned where you can scope out little restaurants and shops inside. This is where we got our lunch.

Inside the air-conditioned building was this BBQ restaurant that is only at the famers market called Pecan Lodge. They supposedly have won awards for THE BEST BBQ IN DALLAS, which is a serious statement in these parts. So we had to try it of course. 

We waited in line for an hour to get our own plate of this delicious meat. We ordered a pork rib, brisket, and cole slaw. Do you see that rib?? It's just one mind you that is longer than the width of the plate. HUGE! and de-lish! Look at that cutie!!

One thing I was curious about is if the meat vendors at the farmers market would have grass-fed, pasture-raised, hormone and antibiotic-free, etc. The vendors themselves did do this but this restaurant didn't necessarily advertise it so I'm sure it wasn't. The whole grass-fed beef thing is still catching on down here. You can get it at Central Market or Whole Foods (grocery stores) but most restaurants, even very nice ones, don't always have it.  

Lincoln enjoying the shade from hot sun while we ate. 

I also found a huge section of the farmers market with a garden nursery with flowers, trees, and humongous green houses for fresh flowers to plant. I want to go back if I ever have space for a little garden!

Also this cute little famers market carriage went by carrying people around the block to visit all the different sheds. 

This is what we ended up with at home! The mango we ate almost immediately because it was so ripe and juicy. We ended up making my mom's famous Cold Tomato Pasta Sauce with those tomatoes there and later on BLT sandwiches with those avocados. The green beans were delicious as well and lasted almost a week! 

We were bummed that the artisan shed was under construction because I was excited to scour the homemade Texas artifacts for our home. Next time I'm sure! 

PS- Next time I go I am going to be more careful about EXACTLY which vendors I choose to buy from. It seemed like some were more family-owned and others were more distributers for bigger companies. For example, we didn't realize until we got home that the mango and avocados had stickers on them stating they were grown in Mexico. I was in shock but remembered seeing this even at MN farmers markets so I've made a mental note to ask more questions about their practices and where is comes from before purchasing. 

Lesson learned! Cheers to locally-grown and pesticide-free veggies! 

Book Review: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz

So I had been wanting to read this book since it was first recommended to me about two years ago. I really liked it! The author did an incredible job painting the story of this curse-ridden family over multiple generations from the Dominican Republic to New Jersey. There are a bit of historical references about the Trujillo regime in the DR during the 20th century (as side notes) and how that has affected life even now on the island. This got a little long but interesting nonetheless to learn more about the DR. 

It also reminded me of my favorite book of all time, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, as you learned about a crazy but fascinating family through the generations, and through various points of view of different family members. Although you can't help but feel bad for the family at times at all their misfortune and how they handle it, you also learn to love them for their crazy and jaded lives.

 Oh, I also loved the Spanish used! If you took high school Spanish you'll be fine, but I loved how you could feel the culture through this detail of the author's writing. For example, "She was very guapa, I said casually. Abuela snorted. Guapa soy yo. Your mother was a diosa. But so cabeza dura." It wasn't like this everywhere but enough to add a cultural element that helped you understand the characters better. 

It reminds me of my Kindergarteners when they mix languages because it just makes more sense in their brain that way. It is so true that some words are more appropriate in one language than another depending on the context.

 A great, fast read! I don't think it was my favorite book but I definitely recommend it!

Have you read it? What did you think? Write a comment below if you are interested!

Next up: Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver

Dallas Zoo

First off I'm sorry for so many template changes! I was experimenting with which one looked best and I think I like the new colors! What about you? I was not diggin the bright orange and yellow swirls anymore. 

Secondly!!! My sister had a baby!!!!!!! I am so thrilled for her and Mark on their new baby boy James Willis Carraway Dixon!!! What a dapper, honest name. I love it. He is so sweet and adorable. They live in Princeton, NJ so I'm going to have to wait to see him and my sister for another month when I go visit them. I am just beyond thrilled for another nibling! (haha look it up!) I love being an auntie so much. :) After I go visit I'll DEFINITELY post pictures of the little dude and what we did all weekend. Can't wait! 

Anywho! 

Last weekend Andy and I didn't have many plans other than become Dallas tourists. The weather was gorgeous all weekend (mid 90s) so we went to the Dallas Zoo, the Farmer's Market, and to Babe's Chicken Dinner Restaurant in Roanoke. 

Whoa. Just whoa. Let me just say this zoo was pretty awesome. They have one huge African exhibit that has all zebras, elephants, ostriches, antelope, and various birds sharing the same space! It was so neat to see them all interacting with each other. 

Here is a panoramic picture that shoes the whole expanse. I loved how open and natural it was. 

The giraffes were nearby this exclosure and probably have a door that lets them into the bigger one sometimes. Get this....you can FEED THE GIRAFFES YOURSELF! No joke! For 5 bucks you get five pieces of lettuce (totally a ripoff) and the giraffes will walk on over to you and stick out their HUGE, BLACK TONGUES and eat the lettuce right out of your hands. 

Of course I was gawking over the gorillas and chimps. I couldn't get any good shots of the whole gorilla but this one was leaning with his feet up against the glass. How cool is that???

Look at that opposable toe! 

The chimpanzees also had a huge exhibit with tons of trees, swings, and natural environment. That mama up in the tree is holding a 3 week old baby chimp who was just born! Maybe you can see his little face peaking out. Adorbs. 

We didn't have time to see the whole zoo but we saw tons of other things like warthogs, okapi (mix between a zebra and a horse), birds, giant tortoises, and more. Andy and I became members right away so we can go back for free anytime! We can also take guests so if you come visit we would be happy to take you here to see the animals. 

I know you can't wait to feed those giraffes...just admit it. :) 

Love,

Betsy, Andy, and Lincoln

Meal Planning

When Andy and I were both working, our almost daily routine regarding dinner happened at about 4:30pm when I was leaving work. I would call Andy, "What are you feeling like for dinner tonight?" and it would either be a mad scramble to the store for last minute ingredients with everyone else who had forgotten about it, a concession to "just spaghetti" or eating leftovers from other nights or heaven forbid frozen pizza. If we were lucky we would have something together and be eating by maybe 6:30 or 7pm. This happened almost EVERY DAY and its exhausting. 

Light Thai Lettuce Wraps by Pinch of Yum

I always dreamed of getting into a routine on the weekends of planning the week's meals, prepping what I could and storing in freezer bags, then just coming home from work to pop it on the stove or in the oven. Easy peasy and done!

When I'm not working (like right now or in the summer) I LOVE cooking a good meal for Andy and having it ready on the table when he gets home. I love being able to research something interesting and new and actually spend quality time on it so it turns out right. A rushed meal (whether cooking it or eating it) is never a good thing. Every time it is ready when he gets home I kind of feel like doing a little jig just to celebrate my wifey-ness. :) Especially when he exclaims, "Wow! It smells great in here! What's for dinner?" 

Lately however I've had quite a bit of time on my hands and gotten so excited about trying new recipes that we end up with TONS of leftovers and it ends up going bad. Not to mention a higher than average grocery bill...oops! 

I will be working more soon (more on that in another post!) so I wanted to get into a routine NOW so that when I am working until 5 or 6 it is easy to make and I don't have to worry about it. Ideally it would be a crockpot meal already cut up and measured out in baggies, then in the morning I can just dump the contents in and let it cook all day. When I get home, BAM!, dinner is served!  

Spicy Thai Pasta with Cilantro and Carrots by The First Year Blog

After scouring Pinterest and other blogs, I have found that some people go to tons of work to schedule out their entire month of meals and buy/prep everything ahead of time. Not for me. 

Andy and I don't normally even need a different meal every night since we usually have leftovers the next night. We probably only need 3 normal dinners planned per week and we'll go out once on the weekend. 

I am hoping to use similar ingredients in the meals every week so that I can reuse ingredients in different ways. And what I mean is not use pasta as the common denominator because that is just too carby so I'll focus on a meat or vegetable that I can use in multiple ways either in the dish itself or on the side. For example I could use asparagus on a pizza then later roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper as a side. The idea is this will cut down on two things:

- too much extra, uneaten food in the fridge that goes bad
- high grocery bill as Betsy explores tons of recipes without thinking about what she's buying - yep that has happened. 

Chicken Enchiladas with Three Peppers by Adventures in Cooking

Here is my first shot at it:

1. Spicy Thai Pasta with Cilantro and Carrots by The First Year Blog 
2. Chicken Enchiladas by Adventures in Cooking (I will not be making my own enchilada sauce for this one)
3. Light Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps by Pinch of Yum 

The common denominators in these recipes are chicken, cilantro (which always goes bad), carrots, green onions, and bell peppers. The cabbage needed for the lettuce wraps (spoiler!) is amazing roasted in the oven with EVOO and salt and pepper so I'll probably make that as a side with the pasta. A lot of the extra, specialty items like curry paste (for the Spicy Thai Pasta) and peanut sauce (for the lettuce wraps) I already have because I've made these before so that is one perk. So here it is! We'll see how this goes! 

By the way I am using the bloggers' own photos because they are way better at photographing food than I am. 

If anyone has any other ways of cutting down the grocery bill without sacrificing flavor and variety, please let me know! You can shoot me an email or add a comment below! 


Wish me luck!

Much love,
Betsy

Dark and Gloomy Pantry Fix!

Hey Y'all,

So in our last house we had a small cupboard that worked as our pantry next to our fridge. It was pretty skinny but super deep so we could put a lot of things far into the cabinet. The reason this worked for us is because the previous owners had installed pull out drawers in the cabinets so you can easily reach the things in the back. If we ever are blessed enough to be able to build our own home....I want pull out drawers OR a huge walk-in pantry (a girl can dream right?). Just sayin'.

Our current place has a much bigger kitchen than the last house with tons of cabinets to store things which we never had in our last house. I love that everything kitchen-related is actually IN THE KITCHEN. Novel idea right? No more going into the dark, creepy basement for that crockpot! 

I immediately realized though that our pantry would be a little tough to use because as you can see it is super wide with tons of space but very deep....you can't even see the back! I knew that I would end up losing cans then rebuying things never really knowing what was lurking in the back pantry abyss. I wanted to start fresh with a system that worked so this is what I came up with. 

  

I decided to sort of make my own built-in, movable drawers per say with cheap storage tubs. I bought a set of five for like $10 at Walmart (eeek! I know!). I got dry erase labels at Target thinking that I would be able to easily relabel them if the contents changed ever, but the marker just rubbed off when I pulled the tubs out so I ended up using a Sharpie. Teacher trick: dry erase marker removes permanent marker! It's true! 

I organized the contents of the pantry and came up with:

• Tea and Coffee (also includes hot chocolate)
• Rice and Pasta
• Baking
• Breakfast
• Cans
• Chips, Cookies, and Snacks along with Lincoln's food bin on the right

If I'm ever wondering if I have any cans of diced tomatoes or how much spaghetti is left, I can just pull the tub out and check. I don't have to wonder if there are anymore hiding in the back or just assume there are none then actually end up with 5 cans of garbanzo beans (true story). I keep anything big and clunky in between the tubs on a shelf (behind the wood post in the middle) like protein powder for smoothies and all our glass baking containers for sugar, flour, and oats. 

Here on the top shelf I got little skinny, low trays that keep peanut butter, honey, and hot sauce (from Guatemala and Costa Rica) and on the right all our grilling, BBQ, and smoking needs. 

Hope you like it and it helps you organize your pantry as well! 

Happy day everyone!

Love, 

Betsy 

Leo y soy liberado - I read and I am liberated.

I recently decided to start reading at least two books a month to get back into one of my favorite hobbies! I always kind of go in phases of my hobbies with the seasons. In the winter I love to knit, in the summer I love to craft and do home DIY projects (with the windows wide open!), in the fall I love to cook (especially apple and pumpkin pies), and the spring is kind of a transitional time for everything - mostly cleaning and organizing which makes me happy too.  I love to read but it seems like I never get to it because for some reason it doesn't seem as "productive" as the other hobbies. How sad! Anyone who loves to read knows that reading is medicine for the soul and just really fun and relaxing.

Now that we are living in a place that is either hot or hotter, I'm sure it will take a lot of work to keep knitting. Who wants scratchy, hot wool on their hands when its 95 degrees out? Who even needs mittens or hats anymore?...sad! I am excited to be able to read before bed again! I did it last night and I think I had the best night's sleep in a long time mostly because my eyes weren't burning from the screen light of the TV or iPad. I can take my books on trips, to read on the airplanes back and forth to MN, to the pool (woop woop!) and to read at night. I'm excited to devote new time to one of my all-time favorite hobbies. 

Did you guys know that Half Price Books allows dogs inside?? I love this and Lincoln is a celebrity at the Dallas HPB store (the flagship store by the way - it's huge!). They also have an employee named Lincoln and every time we walk in they normally call him (the employee) over to the information desk to say hi. They swoon and fight over who gets to give him a treat first. I'm a pretty proud mama that he loves it so much and they love him and that he behaves himself.  I secretly fear that one day he'll just have to poop right in the middle of the fiction aisle and how embarrassing that'll be. I bet real mamas can relate.   

Anyways, L dog and I have a great time walking the aisles looking for new books. I hope to share with you the books that I'll be reading and if you have any suggestions of great books you too are reading, pass them along!

Much love, 

Betsy