A Warm Sunday Stitching Adventure

Yesterday was a warm day. It was in the upper 70s/lower 80s, so we packed up and headed for lunch before going to the park. Of course,  made sure to pack a stitching project. It was so nice, sitting there in shorts and tee shirt, while the Lil Monkey ran around playing with our kids and stitching on The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's 2015 SAL, Story Time Sampler.

It's hard to believe that today we learned that we will have 6-more weeks of winter. We woke up to temperatures in the 30s and 40s. 

How do you feel about this wintery extension?

Until our next cup of tea ...

Exploring Something New: Birthday Lunch

Today is my birthday and as it happens to also be a Thursday, the office is empty except for me today. The publisher is working on the upcoming Spring TEAinTEXAS issue at home because it is storming like crazy here. The other staff are usually in the office on Monday, Wednesday, Fridays, so it's just me today. As luck would have it today, none of my friends work on this side of town eather, so I am spending lunch at The Teacup Collector's Cottage. It is not as sad as it sounds ...

I decided to try something new. Now I am not one of those super confident people who can eat lunch by themselves, but it has gotten easier. I usually work, or blog, depending on where we are wiith the magazine.

I was driving around trying to decided where I wanted to go, since I am usually just a comfort-zone kind of person when it comes to restuarants - but you if you can't be adventureous on your birthday, when can you? I saw a Sam moon store, a place I'd heard about for years from Lil Monkey's god-mother, Mindy, but I'd never been. I pulled in contimplating just going "window-shopping" instead of facing a lunch alone and drove past a place called SushiPop. I'm not going to lie at this point, I love sushi. Like a lot. Like get it made fresh at the local HEB almost every week. I, seriously, love sushi.

I pulled in and like any chicken, Googled it to see the menu so I wouldn't look like a dork when I went in. The menu is amazing. Traditional sushi, specialty sushi, bowls, soups, etc. Contrary to my first (humorous) thought it is not sushi on a stick like cake pops, but there's an idea ...

So I go in and explain at the counter that it was my first time there and she asked what I usually eat. Well, a favorite is the philly roll, a salmon, avocado and cream cheese sushi roll. She suggested I try to Pop This which is the same roll and fried, sort of like an egg roll. Egg roll? I'll try that!

A few minutes later I was brought this little plate of heavenly yumminess! (sorry, its a little blurry, but I was excited to try it!) It was soft, but crunchy. I don't know how to explain it. The sauce was like this spicy creamy goodness. Trust me, it was good!

The restaurant itself was nice too. Very modern, very clean. The staff was extremely nice. 

I even ate it with chop sticks. Look at me just jumping in all traditional like. Sushi is probably the only thing I can eat with chopsticks and not look like a messy Marvin. 

All in all, I overcame my hesitation and trying something new was totally worth it! I may have to see if the publisher knows about this place. It's really close to the office, so she may have been here before, but if not, I think we may need a field trip!!

Until our next cup of tea ...

The Mis-Adventures of the Holiday Travelers

Well, it has been 1 week and 1 day since my last post, and so much has happen. Some planned adventures, and some not so planned misadventures.

I left off with a post about going home the week before Thanksgiving and showing my son where I grew up abnd making memories wiht my grandma like I did as a child. On Saturday, we had an impromptu potluck gathering of about half of my siblings (well 5 of the 12 of us). My dad and grandmother also joined us. It was so fun to sit around, swapping recipes, tell jokes, and watching the cousins play, something my little guy doesn't get to do since he doesn't have any near us his age. (I have 2 cousins in their early 20s, then he was the next baby, about 16 years apart.)

We grilled G-Ma on her recipe and technique for the Jambalaya she'd made the day of our arrival. Getting her to sit still long enough to write down a recipe, so we all peppered her with questions while she sat and watched us finish cooking. I made notes amid the laughter, and with a little clarification later that day, we ended the weekend with one of G-Ma's secrets. Not bad. Now, I just have to remember to send it to all the sisters, sister-in-laws and cousins.

(I think my younger sister, called Moo-Moo by the little ones - is a kid-whisperer. She definitely has a magical touch.)

The Lil Monkey and I came back home on Monday and turned around Tuesday morning and accompanied my dear hubby to Fort Polk, for some Army-related appointments he had for that day. The plan was to drive up that morning, take care of the meetings and get some uniform stuff he needed and some alterations. We had hoped to meet up with some friends and then head back home the same day.

Unfortunately, about 30 minutes from the Army base, in the back roads of Burkeville, Texas, a deer ran out in front of my husband's truck and though none of us were hurt, the truck was damage beyond being driveable. 

Not to get into the long story of it all in this post, we ended up having to stay overnight at the base - totally unprepared for that adventure. When we finally were able to find a rental car and come home the next day, I realized that we'd have to get creative sharing my Tahoe until his truck was fixed. That meant that blogging was put on the back burner because he has law school finals starting next week and has to study at home instead of the library now, so I have to entertain (and distract) our 4-year-old. 

We did have some adventures which I will get posted this week, barring any more surprises, to include a trip to the Christmas Tree Farm, a Pinterest (Almost) Fail and more.

Thanks for visiting The Teacup Collector's Cottage.

Until our next cup of tea ...

The Caped Crusader

Call me Alfred because I am raising Batman!! 

Halloween is by far my family's favorite holiday. This is the first year we didn't really go all out, there just seemed to be so many things that seemed to keep us from being home long enough to get out the decorations. 

However, this year we also seemed to have a bit of a problem with our little one deciding on a costume, so we got both Ninja Turtles and Batman.

After wearing his costumes around the house for the past 2 weeks, Batman was the final choice!

We had fun at his all-day school party yesterday - a parade, party snacks, movies, games, and so much more!!

Tonight he went trick-or-treating with Daddy while I passed out candy, then he came back and they took over. He was so excited he kept running up the driveway to meet all the kids and was so excited and complimenting them on their costumes. I think that was my favorite part. 

(For some reason, I just think this expression is so funny!)

He finally fell asleep like this tonight. It almost looks like he may have some regrets on how much candy he ate tonight.

We'll, it's getting late and tomorrow I am opening the show at the International Quilt festival, so I'm off to bed. I hope everyone had a safe and sweet Halloween!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Just Another Day at the Office

Today was a long day, but it was still pretty great. We are at the final days of ad sales for the Winter Issue, so we've been working early moring and late nights. Its not too bad, because its only a two week period each quarter. But today was still a great day despite running like crazy.

I had to visit some clients and potiental clients, which in my world is not too bad. Actually, most days its the best part.

One place I visited today was Buttons n Bows, a quilt shop on Memorial Drive in Houston. They always seem to have the perfect fabric for my projects. Though I stopped by for business today, I decided to multitask and pick up more yardage of a green fabric I need for a secret Quiltsmart Project, part of my Year of Quiltsmart. For the same project, I need a yellow fabric, which I had been procrastinating because ... well, I don't like yellows and I'm picky about golds too. 

But, as I was looking for the green and considering pushing off choosing a yellow for the project, Marge said she had one on the cutting that she thought I might just like for the project. Sure enough, as soon as I saw it, I knew it was perfect! 

Another stop today was Rummel Creek Village Antiques, just down the street from Buttons n Bows. I could tell you of how many beautifu antiques there were, or express how hard it was not to blow an entire month's paycheck, but maybe I'll just share some photos with you!

The best part was meeting my friend E.B. for lunch. Her
husband's company recently brought them to the United States and it is fun to introduce her to places here and learn about her international travels.

So despite the busy week, the activity leads to new adventures. Who knew exploring your own community could be so fun? That's what make my work so fun!!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Woody Woodpecker Lives in Our Trees

We have some pretty big holes in our trees made by woodpeckers ... Jamie is intrigued by them because he hears them but never sees them.

They are sneaky little buggers, I rarely see them myself but they are always out there just knocking on wood!!

I've made references to Woody Woodpecker but he's too young so maybe we will have to find some old cartoons for him to watch. The holes and lines are pretty artistic but sadly they bugs are killing our poor tree. We've had a few yard maintenance days where we had to trim it back so the dead parts don't affect the healthy parts.

Just another random adventure in our own backyard!

Until our next cup of tea ...