10.29.2009

donuts and artwork

Last Saturday morning was one of those Perfect Outing type of days. Most things went smoothly, we had fun, the weather was perfect, and hey, it started with donuts. It was destined to be perfect. There are two donut shops on the main road by our house so we stopped at the closest one: Daylight Donuts. Lucy knew hands-down that she was getting chocolate glazed with sprinkles (she always does). Cinderella got in on the action too.
Owen, however, stood at the display case for a good 5 minutes, carefully eye-ing each one of them.
Hope you picked a winner buddy! You look a little tired from all that browsing.
Verdict? He picked THE BEST donut in the shop! While Casey and I branched out to the more sophisticated bear claws and cinnamon twists we concluded that Daylight Donuts is only good at one thing: Glazed donuts (with or without sprinkles). Owen's Simpson's donut was amazingly soft, sugary, and yummy. Wow, I uh, never knew I was so into donuts. Huh. Maybe I am?
Casey thought we each needed a picture of ourselves, gorging on a huge bite.
Thus, the only photo of me from the day is with half a donut shoved in my mouth. Lovely.
And I always laugh when looking at picture of me next to a picture of Lucy because it only makes her look more porcelain. My skin has lived 32 years of ultra violet rays, adolescent acne, pregnancy sun spots. And hers is just.....pure. Isn't childhood bliss? A face like a doll and a huge donut to munch on.
Ahh. Totally satisfied. She should be since she ate 2 of those suckers. Impressive for a girl who eats like a bird.
Next on the agenda: Art In The Square.

The city we live in is truly charming. It has that small-town atmosphere yet we're close to Austin when you need it. And compared to other cities in the area, the downtown square is just adorable. Events are often held here and everyone comes down to enjoy the fun. There is a real sense of community here and we're really enjoying that.
The County Courthouse sits in the middle of the square (some of the buildings date back to the 1800s).
It's stately and gorgeous.
The four streets surrounding the courthouse are lined with quaint shops and restaurants. There's even a local Theater where me and some of the girls are going to see Annie on stage in a few weeks. Fun!
Today the streets were only open to foot-traffic with beautiful art exhibits up for display (and purchasing).
The kids had fun wandering around and playing tag at one point.
Lucy cast a few magic spells with her stick wand:
and we enjoyed some cool looking stuff. I'm sure I wasn't supposed to be taking pics. But I'll share their beauty with you anyway.
This guy's art was our favorite. Something that Casey and I both liked.
This being my favorite variation of his trees.
At the end of the exhibits there was a kids art area where they could create their own paintings. Hooray! A cool craft for my kids that I don't have to set-up or clean-up?! YES please!
I knew Lucy would get into it but I was surprised how much fun Owen had with it too. By the end his entire face was covered in paint.
He took it all pretty seriously. But he let Lucy drop-in for a brush stroke.
Very fun morning in The Square.
On our way home we drove through the charming neighborhoods surrounding the downtown. I hope you don't get sick of me posting pictures of houses (there's more to come in another post down the road). This house is currently on the market and oh....it is so cute and dreamy.
A peek inside. Love that old-fashioned architecture. Could use some slight updating and it would be gorgeous.
A porch! With a porch swing! And pillars.
And the cozy backyard with a built-in firepit.
Don't get me wrong....I love our little house. I'm so happy that we are where we are. It's the perfect fit for us right now. But it's okay to dream about the future right? Especially when in the past something like this would have been a $3million pipe dream. But here in Georgetown, it's a possibility! Maybe. Someday. For now I'll enjoy Today. Because it was a really really good one.

10.28.2009

Fall stills

Fall has been here for a month but now it really feels like it. I'm relieved to know that there is a colder season in Texas! So with cooler temps in the air, here is my ode to the season. Here's what we've been "harvesting":

Pumpkins (still waiting to be carved); One for Lucy, one for Owen. When we picked these out at the store Lucy was on the verge of tears because she said now we have to find hanging pumpkins so we can get treats! and I had no idea what she was talking about. I finally just said, okay let's go in the store and see (hoping it would jump out at me). And finally, it did! After buying real pumpkins, she also needed a plastic jack-o-lantern pumpkin to put her Trick-or-Treats in! Ah. So we picked up two of those also. The moment we got home from the store she grabbed that hanging pumpkin, ran out the front door and headed to the neighbor's house. Come on mom! Let's get treats! I heard as she ran off. I quickly explained to her that we had to wait a week and then I let her trick-or-treat at our house a couple times. Oh she's gonna love the holiday this year!
Close-toed shoes. Nothing new but it's cool enough to wear them. Yay!
Acorns. Gathered at the park the other day. Destined to be a craft.
Fall Felts. Same as the above. Such pretty colors.
Riding Boots for Lucy. Found at Target. Cute with a dress.
Crust-less pumpkin pie. So that I don't feel as bad about eating it for every meal?
Deliciousness. But yea, I missed the crust.
Brach's. The only way to go for Candy Corns.
Festive ice cream flavors. Cinnamon Vanilla Pecan. Sadly for the non-Texans, it's a local H.E.B. grocery store thing. I loved every bite.
Halloween art. I admit: I don't often craft with the kids. I hate the mess. I hate the prep time. I admire those of you that do it. But on a rainy day, we did it and it was fun! (for me and Lucy mostly). More info about the Halloween Garland on MADE.
What a wonderful season of color and scents. We hope you're loving yours too. Embrace the orange! Christmas red will be here so soon.

10.27.2009

you all everybody!

Just when Owen's hair started to get a bit DriveShaft/Noel Gallagher-esque (and in a kind of good way)...I decided we should probably cut it.
I'm getting a little better each time at trimming his hair.
But I never really love it till a few weeks down the road.
Once I can spike it up just a bit, it's perfect.
This little guy is really growing up. I was just thinking back to last Halloween and realized, he couldn't even WALK then! What?? Now he's on the verge of turning two and has the opinion to go with it. He's still such a cuddler and a goofball. I really love it when he sits on my lap, gives me a cheesy grin and then comes in for a kiss (which is a slow lunge for my mouth/nose and no other movement. He just sits there with his face right next to mine and then busts up laughing. Let's hope he improves that in the next 16 years.) Cute little Owen. I never tire of that smile.

bitten

The one truly bad thing about living in Texas is....bugs; specifically....mosquitoes. Yuck. I've become a crazy woman in our house. If I see anything out of the corner of my eye buzzing around, I can't sit still till I smack that thing dead (and watch my own blood spill out. Gross). At any given time I have about 3 bug bites on my body. Right now there are 5 on my leg (I'll spare you those photos. Lucy's face is much cuter than my leg). We try to keep the screen doors closed and if I'm working in the garage, I spray repellent all over myself. But man, one pesky bug can make life horrible for the whole family....for a whole week. I'm hoping that with the cooler weather the bug craze will slow down. Cause poor Lucy could use a break.
Too much scratching:
Inspection:
Now I know what she'll look like as a teenager. Poor thing. THREE on her face. The reddest one right in the middle of her cheek:
Oh well, that's life.
At least she doesn't seem too bothered by it. How old is this little girl? She's really developing a natural smile for the camera.