A Little More About Me

I came across this and thought it was neat!

A - Age: 26

B - Bed size: Queen

C - Chore you hate: Laundry

D - Dog's name: Dakota

E - Essential start your day item: Vitamin C tablet and a Diet Dr. Pepper

F - Favorite color: Chocolate Brown

G - Gold or Silver: Silver

H - Height: 5’2"

I - Instruments you play: I wish I could play the piano, does that count?...

J - Job title: Inside Sales for a Construction Company

K - Kid(s): none yet, but hoping to be preggo by the end of 2009!

L - Living arrangements: Our new home (4 bed, 2 bath, 2,250 SF) in Cypress, TX

M - Mom's name: Lynn

N - Nicknames: No nicknames, just the sweet names the hubs calls me

O - Overnight hospital stay: None for me, yet...

P - Pet Peeve: Messy houses, clutter, having no organization

Q - Quote from a movie: ....i'll get back to you on that...

R - Right or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: 1 younger brother, Garrett

T - Time you wake up: 6:00am, too early for my liking!

U - Underwear: Thongs fromVS

V - Vegetable you dislike: Squash & green peas. Broccoli is my absolute favorite!

W - Ways/Reasons you run late: Love to sleep in or hungover

X - X-rays you've had: Teeth and my hands and wrist (I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of 23)

Y - Yummy food you make: My family's Chicken Fried Steak and Chicken/Veal Parmigiana

Z - Zoo animals you like: Elephants and Giraffes

Now its your turn! Copy and paste to your blog so everyone gets to know a little bit more about you!

Everything Loved in May

May brought a good friends 30th birthday, Mother's Day, King George's birthday, my dad's birthday and wonderful Memorial weekend. Our yearly Memorial Day weekend trip to the Frio River, in gorgeous Concan, TX is my absolute favorite thing that the month of May brings. We go with a fabulous group of my best friends from high school and stay in a nice cabin by the river. Our activities include, but are not limited to: floating the beautiful Frio river, drinking beer, mimosas, mixed drinks at any time of the day, relaxing in the water hole, cooking yummy outdoor food, playing an unlimited amount of adult games; beer pong, flippy cup, catch phrase, washers, bolo-golf, etc, taking relaxing naps to get up and do it all over again! Some of the best memories of my that I have, have been made at the Frio River!

The Simple Things In Life

Right now, I am enjoying the juiciest, most delicious and flavorful home grown tomatoes ever!!! Much thanks to my wonderful daddy and his delicate gardening talent and techniques, that I am still waiting to inherit by the way. I do love this time of year and the yummy home grown veggies and fruits it brings, along with wonderful past memories of helping my dad pick tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, okra, broccoli, and potatoes in his garden every spring and fall season. It is truly the simple things in life that I cherish most! And for the next couple of months, my dads home grown tomatoes are on the top of that list! Thanks daddy!

I also have to mention that we are having the most beautiful weather this week in Houston, TX. The highs are in the 80's, low's are in the 60's, very low humidity (which very seldom happens here), clear blue sky's and beautiful orange sunsets. I am taking major advantage of this amazing weather during the short amount of time that we have !

Will you accept this rose?...

I'm guilty.....I so plopped my butt on the couch last night and watched all 2 hours of Jillian Harris, the newest Bachelorette. I could not help it, I do like that show, even though it does have some corny-ness and the dates are just un-believable amazing. And I thought she had a great personality in the last season of the Bachelor. Come on, I have to have something to watch every week now that it is summer time and all my regular shows are off. I enjoyed it like usual. Jillian is a smart, funny, beautiful woman and wants everything that any other woman wants; to fall in love with her prince charming and best friend and live happily ever after! So I wish her the best of luck and I am sure I will be highly entertained by this season of the Bachelorette!

Happy Birthday King George!

Yes, King George, as in George Strait! Happy Birthday to the King of Country. Ever since I was a little girl I was completely infatuated with George Strait, just like my momma! I believe very strongly that it has something to do with the mere fact that my momma was 8 months preggo with me when George Strait and The Ace in the Hole Band was called to fill in for a sick Eddie Rabbit at the famous Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in the Astrodome in 1983. He was not a household name yet, has just signed with MCA Records in 1981 and was still in the beginning stages, playing in honky tonks, small bars, and dance halls. But that once in a lifetime show turned into more than even he could ever imagine! He is known for his unique style of western swing music, honky-tonk style, bar-room ballads and fresh yet traditional country western music. The number of concerts that I have been to is more than I can count with one more this year in August, floor seats in Reliant Stadium!

In George Strait's more than 25 years of recording, all of which have been spent with MCA Records, he has garnered 57 No. 1 songs on all country charts and has more #1 hits than anyone else in any genre of music. Strait has sold more than 73 million recordings and his certifications from the RIAA include 13 multi-platinum, 32 platinum and 35 gold albums. His overall certification numbers are third of all musicians, behind Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Since 1983, Strait has often appeared at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, recording his album For the Last Time: Live From the Astrodome during the final show at the Astrodome in 2002 (I was at that concert with my mom). The event set the record for paid attendance at the Astrodome with 68,266 people.

Here's to you King George! Happy Birthday!

Everything Loved in April

Rain, and a lot of it! April Showers bring May flowers has sure been the case for us this past April! We have gotten so much rain this past month and it was very much needed. We got about 10" of rain in the middle of April and about 12" of rain at the end of April. The rain was appreciated but the flooding during the end of month was un-expected and devastating to those whose homes and/or cars were flooded. Our grass and trees are so green and full of life because of all this rain. On a downfall, all this water is bringing on lots of misquotes and bugs.....ewww. I will be calling the exterminator soon!

Finally, my Chesnut Brown Antique Pinch Pleated Curtains from JC Penney. I ordered them when they were on sale (and they hardly ever go on sale) and they arrived in just a couple of days. I paid only $69.99 a pair compared to $119.00 a pair and bought two pairs for a total of $150.00 including tax. They turned out fabulous!!! Even my sweet hubs likes them a lot. I love the way curtains make a room feel and they bring such elegance to this room. I stained the rod and bought all other accessories from Loews. I will post details on this great and easy DIY project next.

Oh and we can not forget about my Birthday present. My new Signature Medium Zoe Coach Purse. I had been on the hunt for a new nice purse and my love for Coach was calling my name. I found this beauty on the sale rack at Macy's; I took a look at it, feel in love with red, the size of this purse is just perfect, it has great inside pockets and zipper enclosure and I love how it hangs on the shoulder. And did I mention that it was on sale, from $348.00 to $261.00 and I used a $50.00 Macy's gift card. I will get so much great use out of my new Coach!

Lastly, Vacations!!! Our 5 day get-a-way cruise vacation was much needed and very relaxing! We had a great time with our very close friends and made wonderful and funny memories! Vacations are a must for us at least 2 to 3 times a year. Our last one was last October, 5 days in Vegas for my cousin's wedding! I can post pics on that soon too.

Back to the Daily Grind

Ahhh, we are back from our little vacation, back to reality and life as we know it compared to being on a ship in the middle of the ocean and having no worries in the world. We had fantastic time on the cruise with our friends. The weather was absolutely beautiful and breezy, the water was the most turquoise blue I have ever seen and the sand in Cozumel was pure white!

We left the beautiful Carribean to come home to gross, overcast skys and an afternoon/night filled with lightening, severe thunderstorms, wind, flooding and over 10" of rain in one night. But, the hubs and I did both come home with lovely dark tans and a very relaxed body and mind, so the rain really wasn't too bad, in fact it was pretty relaxing until nightfall when the weather got really bad. If you live in Houston, you know that it floods very easily and I myself have been in my share of floods throughout my young life and let me tell you, they are no fun! I have been through three floods in only four years growing up from being a freshman in highschool to freshman in college; But that is another whole story...

So, when it rains for over 12 hours straight and it becomes daylight again, it leads to a morning of chaos, flooded streets, feeder roads, bayous and cars. We were fortunate and our house and vehicles are fine. But there are thousands who homes and cars did flood. I got to work at 8:45am and it was slow pretty much the whole day but great for me to play catch up from being gone. Ahhh, to be back sitting on the beautiful beaches of Mexico...

Pics from our trip will be posted soon!

Out with 25 and In with 26!

You read it right, today is my birthday. Out with 25 and in with 26! I love birthdays; Birthdays are the reason we get to celebrate individually the important family and friends in our lives and I feel it is a big deal to make people feel very special on their birthday!

I don't feel any older, mentally I mean, I never do. Physically, well that is another story. There are days that I have a hard time realizing that I am not 18 years old anymore. Crazy, I know. It still amazes me that I am an adult, out of college with a business degree, working for the same company for 7 years now, married to a wonderful man that I call my husband, living in a beautiful new home with a mortgage payment that makes it all worth it and the talk of having babies in the very, very near future. This is my life! Wow, I still get tickled sometimes to think this is where I am. I am so very happy of where I am and am truly blessed.

So, back to my birthday. I am working half a day, then heading to Galveston, TX with our best friends Mark and Jenny. The rest of our whole group of friends is meeting down there as well for dinner at the Fisherman's Wharf on the water. We are staying the night at the Harbor House Hotel and the next day we are all sailing off on a 5 day Cruise (Thurs-Mon) to Cozumel, Mexico for a our other friends wedding who are getting married on the ship! Fun times to come with all of our great friends! When we return, we will celebrate my birthday with my family that following weekend.

I will post pics when we return and also a pic of my birthday present from the hubs, my new Coach purse! Bon Voyage!

Easter Blessings

The hubs and I had a great Easter Sunday with my family at my parents house. Great food, great company and an adult Easter egg hunt that is funnier than watching the 'Charlie don't bite my finger' clip on you tube. Scott and I made out very well with money and giftcards and are very thankful to have such a giving family. We then headed to Blockbuster, our favorite place to buy movies, bought a couple on the great deals they always have, you know the buy four for $20 dollars, and then reneted two, 'Marley and Me' and 'Seven Pounds'. We got home, put up our leftovers, of course the hubs made another plate, he can eat for three people and I swear he has a tape worm in his belly, LOL, then got comfortable on the couch and watched/cried 'Marley and Me'. Wow, such a great movie and such a wonderful story!!! I can't wait to watch it over again. Hope everyone else had a wonderful and blessed Easter!

Everything Loved in March

Ohh March, where did you go? It was a very busy month for the Jacobs and we continued to get a lot done around the homestead including finally finishing painting the kitchen and breakfast room; color is Whole Wheat by Sherwin Williams.

March brought me one of my favorite things all year long.....Daylight Savings Time Begins, which began on Sunday, March 8th this year! I was so happy to turn those clocks ahead one hour and enjoy the sun in the evening for another hour longer! Daylight Savings does not phase me a bit when it comes to sleep or 'loosing an hour'. My motto is, 'you can sleep when your dead or go to bed an hour earlier, but quit your bitching'! I am loving being able to come home when the sun is still out, shinning with all it's brightness and glory. It is so nice to come home and be able to do some yard work, grill in the backyard, or go for a long walk, in the light, not the dark! I truly feel like I get so much more done around the house or when running errands when the sun doesn't go down until 9pm! I am completely in love with Daylight Savings!
We finally decided on our bar stools for the bar. I picked up two of these lovelies, Black 29" Saddle Stool, from Garden Ridge Pottery, buy-one-get-one-half-off, for a total of $60 bucks. I had been debating now for sometime what kind of stool I wanted for the space that we have under the bar. At first I wanted something that had a back on it and could swivel, a little more fancy. But with much consideration of the space there and our future with kiddos, I decided on these and I am very happy with my decision. They are casual, comfortable, and stylish in a rustic kind of way. I might go back and get a third, but for now, two is great! **05/20/09 I did go back and buy a third; Garden Ridge had them on sale for 25% off, so I got one more for $25.00 instead of $40.00! I love having three there!**
We also finally bought five Queen Palms for our backyard at Home Depot. We bought the 7 gallon size when they had them on sale and have planted them along the backside of our fence in the backyard. Right after we moved into our house last year, I had a vision of what I wanted and I am so pleased that a year later I got my palms and we have them planted! I am so glad the hubbs let me have my way with these and he too now loves the look of them. And I want to THANK him so much for digging those huge holes in our hard as wood ground so we could get them planted. They look great, will grow fast, produce some shade, have a great feather like look to them and will really make a statement when they get bigger. I will post pics of them in our yard soon!

Chocolate Confession...and the Weekend

I eat chocolate everyday! A piece here, a piece there, that's all. I just thought I would get that out of the way and in the air now. Chocolate and Peanut Butter combined together are my ultimate favorite! Yep, that just about sums it up.
Oh, and on a side note, I am so happy to have my hubs back home. He was out of town in Appleton, WI all last week, Monday-Friday for work and classes and he came back home this past Friday night at 11pm. We spent the whole next day at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo; seeing all the animals, seeing two baby calf's be born, shopping, eating great BBQ, drinking cold beer and watching the Rodeo Finals where they gave $50,000 each to the Cowboys and Cowgirl who won in each of the 7 categories! Brooks and Dunn performed and had a great show as always. Afterwords, we went to a late night Crawfish Boil at some friends of ours house. Sunday we worked around the house and yard all day! It was such a great weekend!

Everything Loved in February

I have been looking for a facial highlighting pen and concealer for under the eyes for a good while now and I have finally found one that I am completely in love with; Lorac Double Feature, Concealer and Highlighter found at Sephora. This concealer/highlighter duo comes with an unusual hygienic blender ball and this baby does it all! The concealer goes on so smooth and creates that very awake, full of life look under the eye and top of the cheekbone that will last all day while the highlighter feature adds that bit of shimmer for when ever you want it. The ball’s rolling motion works quickly and gently to smooth and blend the concealer and / highlighter so you do not have to use your finger tips. It is probably some of the best $24.00 I have ever spent.

Can We Say...It's RODEO time again in Houston!?!

Wahoo! It is exactly that time of year again; where people from all over the state and country come to Houston, TX to celebrate the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo!

RODEOHOUSTON is ranked as the world’s largest rodeo and invites only the top cowboys and cowgirls in the sport to compete. Reliant Stadium, the home of RODEOHOUSTON, is the only stadium of its kind built specifically for rodeo and football. This event is HUGE in Houston and last approximately 3 weeks and contains something for everyone; Rodeo, Livestock animals, Petting Zoo, Calf Scramble, BBQ Cookoff, Carnival, Food, Shopping, Dancing, Scholarships, Fireworks, auctions, and much more. Each year, champion cowboys and cowgirls compete in the world’s richest regular-season PRCA rodeo. In 2008, contestants competed for a total purse of more than $1.3 million. The stakes get higher in 2009, where contestants will be riding and roping for more than $1.4 million in prize money. Winning a RODEOHOUSTON champion title is a big stride toward earning a paycheck that will lead a contestant to the NFR.

The Lone Star State hosts a colossal, Texas-sized picnic to launch the annual event; The World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest is three days of cooking, competition, eating and dancing. The judging is all business as teams vie for the coveted title of World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest Grand Champion. Trophies are awarded to teams preparing the best dish in each category (brisket, chicken and spare ribs) as well as an overall winner. 209,313 guests joined the feast in 2008 and it is always a party to remember!



The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's educational program is a significant part of the Show's mission — benefiting youth, supporting education, and facilitating better agricultural practices through exhibitions and presentation. Since that first scholarship in 1957, the Show has committed more than $130 million in direct educational program support.

Shopping is also a big deal! In this gigantic, one-of-a-kind Western shopping mall (Reliant Center) show patrons can purchase everything from Western clothes, fashion clothes, furniture, horse trailers, hot-tub spa's, gourmet food, unique arts and crafts, custom monogramming and agricultural machinery. All types of food can be found as well, from traditional barbecue to fine cuisine.

The carnival is Texas sized as-well and has a ride for everyone. You won’t want to miss a ride on La Grande Wheel — the Western Hemisphere’s largest portable Ferris wheel! The views are beautiful when sitting at the top of this giant Ferris wheel.

Oh, and I can not forget the talented line-up of country entertainers that that perform each night after the rodeo! The concerts are like non-of it's kind with a round rotating stage in the middle of the rodeo arena. Talk about 73,000 screaming fans in the audience; the sound is incredible!

Sproost Sytle Quiz

I checked out this website, sproost.com found from Katie's blog at Bower Power and took the same quiz to see how accurate it was with my personal decorating style. I must admit, it was pretty accurate and neat to see the results it came up with. I even took the quiz a couple of more times for fun, because they do show a couple of different room choices to vote on. My results were pretty much the same give or take a couple of points on one style or the other.

My personal style is a mix of 3 specific styles, and I totally agree on them:

69% Wine Country Style
15% Classic Style
16% Classic Country Style

Wine Country Style
Tuscan sun, here we come! The Wine Country style reflects the feelings evoked by the seaside regions of Europe such as the South of France, Spain, Italy and Greece. The style manages to be both refined and casual, such that you can mix beautiful antiques with more rustic wrought iron or wood and the result is both sophisticated and cozy.

Furniture is large and comfortable, colors are bright and cheery, and regardless of the color palette the spaces almost always feel warm. You can easily translate the style into the perfect family environment but you can just as easily emphasize the more formal pieces and make your room the perfect adult getaway.

Classic
What's old is new again! The beauty of Classic style is how well it takes all of the beautiful forms, colors and textures of the past and reinvents them in a way that feels both fresh and inspired.

The style itself is a mix of European influences and French, English and Italian antiques and replicas are often used together. Furniture is well proportioned and comfortable and the rooms give off an air of sophistication and grace. Oil paintings depicting still-life or nature scenes and emphasizing symmetry of pairs helps maintain the traditional nature of the room. Windows are often covered with opulent fabric shades and/or drapery.

Traditional rooms give off an air of history that seems to say "I was here long before you, and will remain long after you've gone." And yet, even with this level of sophistication, the rooms are soft and inviting.

Traditional Country
Even if your backyard isn't acres of farmland and you don't actually have a cow out in the barn, your house sure brings you back to a time when that was the case for many.

You love spaces that feel casual and lived in. Furniture is practical and comfortable, and yet at the same time its very stylish. The best part of country style is how much it highlights collection and found objects. Antiques here, garage sale finds there and Aunt Milly's hand-me-downs throughout. Unique items that used to serve very practical purposes are now on display, and their history seems to permeate the home. Each space in the home seems to invite friends and family to come in and stay a while. There is a true sense of home felt throughout.

So take your personal style quiz and and share your results!

25 Random Things

I was tagged on Facebook, so I thought I could also post this on here. Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 5 people to be tagged. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you. I am tagging these ladies: Karen, Katie, G&D, Courtney, Abby.

1. I truly believe that my husband has made me a better person; I love being his wife!
2. I still don't 100% feel like I am an adult in my mid 20's.....until I see the mortgage note every month.
3. I look forward and am so anxious about having kids and starting a family, but at the same time I am not in a huge rush to do so.
4. My mom and dad are the most wonderful and generous parents I have ever known; my life is so blessed because of them.
5. I have the best girlfriends in the whole world; my old girl besties and my new girl besties, I do not know how my life would be without them in it.
6. I am so happy and proud to say I am from Texas and live in this great state.
7. My brother and I are completely opposite but have so many things in common.
8. I am still completely in love with George Strait!
9. I love milk! I drink at least one glass every night.
10. I really want to learn how to play the piano someday.
11. My beer of choice is Bud Light Lime; best beer ever!
12. Fishing is one of my favorite past times and I wish I went more often.
13. I did not get my first dog, Dakota, until I was 20 and since then my life has just been that much better.
14. My husband broke his ankle playing softball 4 weeks after we got married; so glad it happened after the wedding!
15. Scott and I got engaged on the Kemah Boardwalk which is also where we took our first official 'Big Date' 5 years previous.
16. I love to clean and organize but I absolutely hate to fold and hang up laundry!
17. Decorating is one of my true passions in life; I am obsessed with it and would love to do it for a living someday.
18. I really enjoy entertaining and having friends and family over at our house! The more the merrier.
19. Kirklands, Hobby Lobby, Target and Bed Bath and Beyond are some of my absolute favorite stores to shop at.
20. My grandpa Myron is my hero. I miss him everyday and our family farm is not the same without him.
21. I can spend countless hours looking at houses on HAR.com even though I live in a new house; I love looking all the different floorplans and such.
22. I enjoy to cook but don't do it as often as I should; I am usually very hesitant to cooking new recipes because of the uncertainty of how it taste and I hate wasting food and money if it turns out 'not so great'.
23. I really don't like cold weather, brrrrr.
24. I love wearing high heels!
25. I hate riding in cars, especially 2 door cars--I get all claustrophobic. So glad we have an SUV and truck in our family.