September 2014 Round-up

Happy Tuesday! Like so many months this year, September has seemed to fly by. These are some of the highlights of the past month:

• Celebrating Labor Day with my family. It was great to introduce everyone to the pie at Blue Bonnet Cafe.
• Getting back into the regular routine of handbell practice on Wednesday. I also performed twice in church; once as a sub for the Thursday night group, and the second as a member of my regular group.
• Spending another weekend in Austin with my family for the BYU game. While Dad, Paul, and Esther went to the game, Mom and I had some special girl time together on Saturday night. We all went to County Line on Sunday after church.
• Watching figure skating on my computer. These are still early-season competitions, but watching them has made me even more excited for my trip to Chicago next month.
• Eating a late lunch at Chuy's one Friday...and having another Kendra B. as my server.
• Finishing my Project 365 photo book. It was nice to receive it in the mail today too.
• Treating myself to a pedicure at the end of this month.
• Driving down south after church on Sunday to eat at Mandola's and visit some of the stores down there.

Books I read: Margot (Jillian Cantor), The Island (Victoria Hislop), Larger Than Life (Jodi Picoult), Songs of Willow Frost (Jamie Ford)

Movies I watched: Little Women (DVD), Anne of Green Gables (DVD), Emma (DVD), Mean Girls (TV)

TV: Dancing with the Stars, Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, Castle, Forever, The Paradise, Veronica Mars (Season 3 DVD), college football

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About My Monthly Round-Ups
At the end of each month, I take a look back and write a post about the month's highlights, as well as what I read and watched. To see all of my round-up posts, visit this page.

Looking Back on Labor Day

A few weekends ago, my family came down to Austin for Labor Day weekend. As usual, UT played the Saturday before Labor Day, so all of us (sans Mom) went to the game that evening. While we watched the Horns beat North Texas, Mom drove out to the Canyon of the Eagles Resort to get our rooms for the weekend. We joined her in the wee hours on Sunday and stayed there through Monday.


On Sunday, we had a relaxing day around the resort. We spent most of the morning out on the porch and then ventured out to do our own things throughout the day. Since it was so hot outside, I enjoyed curling up on a chair in the game room and reading (I finished one book and started another). We also enjoyed snacking on the chips and creamy jalapeno sauce Mom brought out from Chuy's.





That evening we ate dinner at the resort's restaurant and then stayed a while to listen to the musicians playing outside. We also made s'mores, but it was difficult to do because our skewers were so short. Afterward, we came back to the room to celebrate Mom's birthday with cake and a few gifts.





The next day we left the resort and drove into Burnet. The girls went to an antique mall in town while Paul and Dad drove out to a dam Dad remembered visiting several years ago. We met up for lunch at Blue Bonnet Cafe in Marble Falls, where we all enjoyed our meals and the pie. After we finished our lunch, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. It was a fun weekend and a nice start to the fall football season.

August 2014 Round-up

Happy Tuesday! I hope all of you had a nice Labor Day weekend. Since August is now over, it's time to look back for my monthly round-up. Here are some of the highlights from the past month:

• Meeting my mom and Esther up in Dallas for a girls' weekend of shopping, sharing great food, and enjoying being together.
• Visiting the new Trader Joe's in North Austin for the first time.
• Watching lots of gymnastics on TV — Youth Olympic Games, U.S. Classics and the Visa Championships.
• Finishing the owl on my cross-stitch project (now it's on to the tree).
• Watching Sammy chase a bug in the bathroom one Sunday morning. He stayed after it until he finally killed it. My hero!
• Cheering the Longhorns on to their first victory of the season.
• Spending Labor Day with my family in Austin and the Hill Country. It's always great to celebrate Mom's birthday with her, even if it was a few days early.

And a few lowlights...

• Being sick for a good part of the month. The ability to breathe out of one's nose is severely underrated.
• Dealing with ants and roaches in my apartment, as well as a leaky drier or AC (they don't know why my laundry room is flooding).

Books I read: The Blythes are Quoted (L.M. Montgomery); The Paris Architect (Charles Belfoure); The Little Women Letters (Gabrielle Donnelly); The House Girl (Tara Conklin)

Movies I watched: The Hundred-Foot Journey, Magic in the Moonlight, Roman Holiday (TV), A Nun's Story (TV), Breakfast at Tiffany's (DVD)

TV: Call the Midwife (Season 2 DVD), Veronica Mars (Season 2 & 3 DVDs), The Big Bang Theory, Castle, gymnastics

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About My Monthly Round-Ups
At the end of each month, I take a look back and write a post about the month's highlights, as well as what I read and watched. To see all of my round-up posts, visit this page.