Lunch with Kristina and Meredith

Yesterday I met Kristina and Meredith for sandwiches at Bowl, a great little salad/sandwich shop. Meredith and I both had the El Capitan...prosciutto/brie/basil honey panini and Kristina had the Executive Grilled Cheese...grilled cheese panini with green apple slices and bacon. Meredith is the likely new tenant that will be moving into my apartment. She and Kristina work together at the CAMH.

Meredith, Kristina, Cassie

Next door neighbors of 4 years, Kristina and Cassie, at Bowl.

Jena's 33rd Birthday

Last Thursday I went to Jena's house to help her celebrate her 33rd birthday. Jena is my oldest friend...we have known each other since we were preschoolers at Walden Oaks in Baytown.

Jena, the day before her 33rd birthday and her daughter, Emma. What a beautiful picture!

Mary Jane, Jena's mom (and also one of my mom's closest friends) lighting the candles.

Happy Birthday Mommy/Jena!


Say Cheese!

Emma and Mary Jane (aka PawPaw)

Emma and Cassie

Packing shoes

The other night I was packing up my bedroom closet, separating clothes that are going into storage and clothes that I'm taking to New York. My shoes were not so easy to separate because I want to take them all! I laid them all out on the bed before I decided which ones to take and which ones to leave and thought it would make a cool picture.

Joe and the Great Divide

I thought that this picture was also perfect to go along with Father's Day. This is a picture of John's dad, Joe, admiring "The Great Divide", John's painting that hangs at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art.

Father's Day

Cassie, Richard, Lizzie, and Josh in Baytown on Father's Day. We had a really nice Father's Day this year. Richard gave a wonderful sermon at church that Sunday morning and then came home to make fajitas on the grill for all of us and Josh's family. This was taken just before Lizzie and Josh drove back to College Station.

Lizzie, Dad, and Cassie

This picture was actually taken in 2001, but I wanted to include it since it was my Father's Day posting. It was taken at Stallworth Stadium in Baytown at a football game when Lizzie was a cheerleader in highschool. This is one of my favorite pictures of Lizzie, me, and our Dad, who we love very much!!!

Back to Father's Day in Baytown...
As we were standing around in the drive way, Mom noticed that she and I were standing exactly the same way with our hands on our hips. We thought it would be cute to get a picture of the two of us standing alike, but Lizzie thought it would be even cuter to secretly make fun of us behind our back! This picture cracks me up...it is classic Lizzie!

Tripper and Skipper Trout-Gaines, Lizzie and Josh's border collies.

Border Control!

Group Hug - Ed's Birthday, Gwen to Cali, Cassie to NYC

We all got together last Saturday for our last Group Hug before Gwen moves to California and I move to New York. We were also celebrating Ed's birthday. Kristina picked out the perfect place, Saffron, a Morrocan restaurant with belly dancing.

Kristina, Paula, and Cassie

Amira, the belly dancer, gave Ed, the birthday boy, a special performance. One of the other belly dancers invited me to dance with her which I reluctantly agreed to. I took a belly dancing class about 10 years ago, but I'm really shy about doing it in public. Unfortunately the flash was off for the picture.

Paula, Ed, Prince, and Kristina. Our waiter (who was a little annoying) took this picture and insisted on turing off the flash (he's the reason my flash was off in the previous picture). I guess he was trying to capture the candlelight ambiance of the restaurant.

Cassie, Gwen, Ed, Paula, and Prince. This time the flash was on. Not as much ambiance, but at least you can see everyone's face!Kristina and Paula

Cassie and Gwen

Gwen and Ed

Prince, Kristina, and Paula

Prince, Kristina, and Paula

As Ed tells a story, he uses his hands to illustrate something...hmmm.

Pasta with vineripe tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella

2 tablespoons olive oil
small pat of unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped Vidalia onion
1 or 2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 or 4 ounces linguini or thin spaghetti
2 cups coarsely chopped and seeded vineripe tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and tossed with coarse salt
1/4 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Put a large pot of water on to boil over high heat. Cook pasta. While pasta cooks, cook the tomatoes. Heat oil and butter in pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes or until the onion is tender. Add the tomatoes, raise the heat a little, and cook 5 more minutes. Drain the pasta and add to the tomato mixture, tossing gently to evenly coat the pasta. Remove from the heat and stir in the mozzarella and a small portion of the Romano cheese. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the basil and the remaining Romano cheese.

I made this twice last week and loved it! It's a modified version of a recipe that came from "At Home with Magnolia" by Allysa Torey, owner of Magnolia Bakery in New York.

Horton Hears a Who Van

Horton Hears A Who was John's favorite Dr. Suess book growing up. I had Horton Hatches an Egg which I read so many times the binding fell apart. We were both pretty excited when the movie came out. We saw it together over Spring Break, right around the time we got engaged (big smile!) This van is proof that there is someone out there who loves Horton more than we do!

Dresses!

Lizzie and I tried on dresses yesterday. I found a few bridal gowns that I liked and also some bride's maids dresses. I think Lizzie looks so cute here!

John and Cassie

We look so great in this picture! We're standing in front of a Markus Lupertz painting in a show that John curated.

Sweet John Pics of the Day

Cell phone pics of my sweet fiance...

Kristina

This was a note that I left for Kristina along with either cookies or flowers...I can't remember. The doll she used to hold the note looks like the two figures on the sticker. I'm going to miss us being neighbors!

New York Pics of the Day

John's parents visited NYC over the weekend. On Friday, John took them to the Top of the Rock where he proposed to me. This is the exact view we had when we got engaged : )

John also took his folks to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and saw the Superhero show. This is the original Wonder Woman costume!

They also went to the roof of the Met to see the Jeff Koons outdoor sculptures.

And this is a body piercing shop with a very cool name : )

Apartment pics

I love the giant oak tree outside my bedroom and bathroom...

Window shopping

Here are a few items that John thought I would like...he was right! I love this jellybean bag from the MoMA store. And I like these skirts and tank tops...I think this is Old Navy, but I'm not sure. I love the colors!

Georgie in Baytown

Aunt Lizzie took these pictures of Georgie while she was staying in Baytown. Here is Georgie warming herself in the sun... Taking a ride in the car...

Hanging out with cousin Skip...