Mr. & Mrs. Savage!

Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs Savage!

This weekend Joe and Catherine tied the knot in Austin! She was such a beautiful bride! It was an honor to stand up by her side and watch her make commitments for life to Joe.

We had such a fun weekend with all of the wedding festivities.  The rehearsal dinner was a fabulous meal at Z Tejas, an Austin favorite.  Afterward, the girls all headed back to the hotel and had some girl time together.  We stayed at the new AT&T Conference Center on campus.  Such an awesome hotel.  Their suite overlooked both the Capitol and the Tower!  The next morning we got up and had breakfast in the suite and started our hair and make up appointments.  It was such a relaxing day of prepping together before we headed to the venue for pictures before the ceremony. 

The Allan House was beautiful!  They had an amazing tent that wrapped around the house and even had a lit tree running through it.  Everything came together so well! 

Beautiful lighting that hung from the giant tent that wrapped around the Alan House

My sharply dressed man :)

Going to weddings is such a blessing and a wonderful reminder of the commitments that B and I made almost a year ago!  I love the idea of growing in oneness together.  That was a theme that struck my heart this weekend. 

Congrats to Catherine & Joe!  We are so happy for you.  Hoping you have a wonderful honeymoon in Costa Rica!!

In the Valley of the Sun with the Wednesdays...

I cannot wait to see some of these ladies tonight!  Hip Hip Hooray!!!!

This was a good week....

I can't believe Friday is already here!  This week flew by, but it's definitely been a good one. I don't usually sing the praises of my Monday-Fridays but this one was a good one.  I also know that this week is usually about my non-work life - but I wanted to share the great work week I had as well....

Sunday was spent catching up from the fun weekend and then spending some much needed down time with B since I kicked him out of the house all weekend for girls time.  He was such a good sport.  :)  We headed to church later that afternoon and then joined some friends for a Superbowl Party and indulged in some junk food.  My Superbowl highlights were the Usher cameo during the Black Eyed Peas halftime show and watching the hilarious commericals. 

Monday was a busy work day after having multiple distractions the week prior due the power outages and snow.  It felt good to check a lot off my to do list.  That night I made tasty dinner and we enjoyed a glass of wine too and just had some one on one time to catch up. Our sweet friend, Tina, joined us later too.  SO glad she came over! 

Tuesday morning I headed out early to a team meeting in San Antonio.  We stayed at Hotel Valencia on the Riverwalk.  A really productive meeting filled with good brainstorming sessions, team building and goal setting.  I love feeling motivated and energized to go be my best after meetings like that.  That evening, we went to the San Antonio rodeo to see Reba and eat tons of fair food.  I think I gained 20 pounds this week between the Rodeo and the Superbowl!  The best thing we ate was a fried PB&J.  YUM!

Wednesday we wrapped up our meeting session and then I drove back to Austin.  Blake and I had a nice dinner at home and then he headed off for his small group.  I had some awesome time with the Lord.  It's amazing how just being alone will quiet my heart and allow me to focus on Jesus.  I sipped on some decaf coffee and read cozied up under a blanket.  Just what I needed.  Why don't I do it more and more and more and more?  God's working on me in discipline and consistency.  Thank you Lord for grace.

Thursday evening was my night for small group.  We met for the first time last week, but had the full group this time around.  I am so blessed by the honesty, vulnerability and love of this group.  It's going to be a good one.  I know it.  A couple weeks back I wrote about craving the intimacy of the girls group I had in AZ.  Look what the Lord has now abundantly blessed me with!  He.  Is.  Good. 

And today, Friday, we both decided to take the day off to head to Shiner, Texas for a pre-birthday celebration for B.  I know we will be enjoying some BBQ and Beer and most of all eachother.  I love our roadtrips!  Can't wait to tell you about it when we get back!  Pre-Valentines dinner tonight too.  I can't wait to try this place....I've wanted to go there for years!  Yay for celebrations!

Here's to a great week and the start of a great weekend!

Catherine's Bachelorette Weekend!

C's bachelorette weekend was a great time! She is truly blessed with a great group of friends.  It was clear that she surrounds herself with wonderful women.  I loved getting to know each of them better as we celebrated Catherine.  

The weekend flew by and I was pooped by the time it was said and done, but it was well worth it!  It was the perfect mix of relaxation, yummy food and drink, fun on out on the town and some good ole fashioned girl time.  I hope Catherine felt loved and celebrated and had a wonderful time! It was so so good to be with her!

Here are a few scenes from the weekend:

Some photos of the decorations to turn our casa into a festive party scene.  I recreated the pom garland that I did for Liz's shower and made it bachelorette style complete with bras, panties and martini glasses!  If you look close, you might even find Joe in the picture too!

After eating a make-your-own pizza meal we enjoyed some coffee and watched Catherine open gifts.  I didn't post the pictures in attempts to make the post PG rated :)  She certainly was a blushing bride!

Even with a snow day on Friday, we managed to have incredible weather on Saturday for wine tasting near Fredericksburg! We took a limo out to the hill country and sipped on mimosas on our way there.  Our first stop was Becker Vineyards and then headed to Torre di Pietra for some live music, a picnic lunch and shared a couple of bottles of vino. I can't wait to go back. 

My dear college friends all together!  I love you girls!

The whole group pictured with our pourer from Becker.  He offered Catherine some excellent marital advice.  A sweet old man :)

Joe came along for the ride too!  :)

Can't wait to for the wedding weekend in just a couple weeks.  So looking forward to more celebrations and the honor to stand up by Catherine's side.  So happy for you C!

Girls Weekend!

This weekend we have quite the celebration in store for my dear friend Catherine.  We are going to live in up in Austin all because....

.....this beautiful lady is marrying this handsome gentleman in just a few short weeks. 

A group of Catherine's closest friends are coming to Austin to take over the Parrish house in hopes of a weekend that will go down in the books, celebrating one of her last nights as a single lady.  I have a feeling there will be lots of vino, laughter, yummy food, dancing, some embarassment for the bride and that crazy high that girls seem to get on once they are around each other. 

I have so many awesome memories with Catherine and I'm so happy to celebrate her this weekend!  I can't wait, together with all of her friends, to make it a special time for her to look back on.

Catherine and I have experienced so much together.  We have some incredible memories as friends.  From traveling Europe for a month together to being roomates our senior year (next door our Freshman year).  We watched our Longhorns win a National Championship from Pasadena, celebrated 21st birthdays, shared a graduation party, graduated from the business school together, stood up in Aleigh's wedding together, had her as a part of my wedding and now get to be a part of hers!  (Just to name a few). 

She's a dear friend to me and one that I hope to keep for a lifetime! 

C - can't wait for you to get here and get the party started!  Yay for the bride!

Reunited!

This weekend we headed to Dallas to visit the Kersey family.  It was so great to be with our sweet friends, we've missed them!

Us with the Kerseys (brand new baby Adi) the night we got engaged!

Kristi and Michael were some of our closest friends at our church in Scottsdale.  Coincidentally, they are also from Texas and have since moved to Dallas from Arizona.  It's so nice to be close enough to drive to see each other for the weekend.  It had been way too long!  They were such a blessing to us in Arizona.  We loved spending date nights out with them, listening to their experience on marriage as newlyweds/ an engaged couple and talking about Jesus together.  We spent a couple new year's eves with them as well and they threw us a WONDERFUL Texas themed shower in their backyard last spring.  They are dear friends to us. 

We were so happy  to see their kids, Trevin and Adilyn.  They are such awesome kiddos and we had a blast playing with them and getting to know them all over again.  So excited for Baby Kersey #3 on the way in 8 weeks.  The next time we seem them, they will be a Party of 5!

We got in late on Friday night and stayed up chatting and catching up.  It was fun to see their home in Texas and hear how life had been the last couple months.  We both have experienced quite a bit of transition.  Interesting how so much of the challenges and blessings of that time were similar for each of us. 

The next morning we got up and made breakfast panini sandwiches.  The kids were a little shy at first, but quickly warmed up once they were awake and alert.  Trevin gave us the tour of his playroom and bedroom.  It was so fun to play with them.  I also loved watching B with them, he's going to be such a great dad someday.  (Don't get any ideas people :) )  We headed to the park later that morning.  It was a gorgeous day! We loved enjoying a picnic lunch outside.  So nice to not be cold or rainy.  Beautiful days like that make me really miss AZ, where the weather is like that more than 6 months out of the year.  I even fell asleep outside on their swing later that afternoon!

Trevin and Adilyn were going to spend their first night at their Grandma's house that evening so we all could have a night out.  We headed to the Uptown area and had a really yummy dinner at Villa-O.  I had a seafood risotto with a spicy tomato sauce.  It was so decadent, but I ate the whole dish!  I really enjoyed the uptown area.  Looks like there are a ton of cute shops and fun restaurants in that neighborhood.  We finished our night with some ice cream and headed to bed.

Sunday AM, the guys went to go pick up the kids and Kristi and I met them at church.  We were excited to be able to go to the Village with them.  We've heard so many great things about this church and it was fun to see where they worship each week.  Loved worshiping together again with them!  The Lord is really working in and through this church.  It's exciting. 

We ended our time together over brunch and then got back on the road after hugs.  So blessed by our time together.  It really was a fun, relaxing weekend and awesome to be together with them. 

Sadly, I didn't take any pictures while we were there, but hopefully the recap can help you imagine all the fun we had! Can't wait to visit again soon after Baby arrives!

Alexis visits the ATX

You know the feeling of just being able to pick up where you left off with a friend?  That's exactly what happened when Alexis came to town this weekend.  I loved having her here.  It felt like we never missed a beat (or 5 months apart) and just jumped right back in where we were when we left Arizona.  I loved getting to catch up, hear her heart and understand more details of what is going on in her life, talk about Jesus, show her our new (and rainy) city and just BE together.

On Friday, Alexis arrived and I had some work to finish up before the weekend could officially begin.  She baked some cookies (nothing makes B happier!) and then we headed out to a coffee shop so I could wrap up my to do list and Lex could get a little reading/quiet time in.  That night we went to a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant we had heard great things about.   The restaurant wasn't all we had hoped it would be, but with a little bit of greasy Mexican food in our tummies, we headed to 6th street.  We were on 6th early so she didn't have a chance to experience the craziness that it normally has to offer later in the night.  We saw a concert of a band that I had seen a few times when I was in college, Alpha Rev.  They were fantastic and it was a great show.  I would love to see them again.  Loving that Lex got to experience the Live Music Capital of the World in all it's glory.  :) 

Saturday morning we woke up to rainy skies so we enjoyed our coffee on the couch where we chatted and had some great girl time.  We decided to head out of the house and hit up Austin Java for a egg in the hole and Lex had another cup of coffee (because she hadn't had enough yet).  There is no way that she could leave without touring the Whole Whole Foods HQ.  After she saw the amazing foodie mecca, Lex said she was ready to move to Austin.

Since our plans of hiking or walking Town Lake were not going to happen due to rain, we headed to Alamo Draft House to see The Kings Speech.  Definitely an Austiny place - we had some lunch and watched a flick to stay out of the rain.  Loved the movie and highly recommend it!  Afterwards, we made a fantastic dinner after a trip to Central Market (because Alexis needed to see more TX grocery stores I always talk about) complete with serveral kinds of bruchetta, a fresh salad and a lovely glass of Malbec.  To wrap up our evening we headed to my cousin's surprise birthday party and then decided to call it a night.

This makes me miss Postino (and cooking w/ Alexis)

Sunday turned out to be a delightful surprise.  We had called Stubbs the night before to make a reservation for their Gospel Brunch, but the voicemail said that they were full.  The next AM Blake put on his charm and we ended up with reservations for 11.  It was fantastic!  The food was so heavy, but so delicious.  Fried catfish, garlic cheese grits, BBQ brisket and sausage, migas and more.  The make-your-own Bloody Mary bar didn't hurt either.  We were seriously full until we went to bed.  Not only was the food wonderful, but the Gospel band was just as amazing.  I will be taking future visitors here - so let us know when you're coming!

Enough Soul Food to feed an army!

Because we didn't want to just sit inside for the rest of day, we headed out to driftwood for some wine tasting at Duchman Winery (previously Mandola's).  We had fun people watching and trying some of their wines.  A really great spot for only about 30 mins away.  We were wiped out and really needed a nap after sipping wine mid day.  A quick power nap rejuvenated us and we then went to Cafe Medici followed by church.  I was so happy to be worshiping next to my dear friend, Alexis.  It was fun to have her see the awesome community we have been so blessed by since we moved to TX.  Don't worry, Alexis gave us a "church hug" after the service.  Felt like we were back in AZ at OTBC. 

We came home and made a "detox" salad to eat something healthy after all of the caffine, wine and fatty foods we had put in our bodies.  We popped in a movie and all snuggled up on the couch, just like old times of being "roomies."

Detox Salad :)

What a great weekend.  I'm so thankful for this visit and time to catch up together.  Can't wait to plan another time when we get to see each other again.  :)  Love you Lex!

In Honor of the Wednesdays....

I. Miss. These. Girls.

It seemed fitting to write about the "Wednesdays" on Wednesday.  These lovely ladies (several are missing from this pic) were some of my closest friends while we lived in Arizona.  Weekly, they brought truth, joy, laughter, comfort, celebration and true friendship into my life.  I miss this group for the tight knit community of women and the aspects of life we experienced together.  I think it's truly remarkable that such a large group of girls would meet together and do life together week after week together - especially at our age!

It's been so fun to see so many of these ladies have such exciting things in life happen to them in the past several years that i've know them.  Engagements, new jobs, weddings, decisions to go back to school, graduations, moving back home, etc.  I loved knowing their stories. 

So many of us have now moved away from Arizona.  We never quiet understood what God was doing as he gave and took away so many of these girls.  It was so hard to let go - but He was faithful in always providing more women to bless us.  These ladies were never replaced, God was just growing our circle.  Wednesdays always seemed to be a constant.  Even on the days I was tired and dragged my feet to get there, I was always glad I went in the end.

Kathy was a our fearless leader.  Weekly she poured hours of effort into teaching us the Word and bringing the text to life in a meaningful and applicable way.  She desired us to be intwined intimately and really be real with one another.  I love her love for Jesus, for us and her servant-hearted leadership that pointed us toward Christ. 

I'm continuing to pray for a community of women like this to surface in my life here in Texas.  I've certainly been blessed by a few here and there, but continue to pray for unity and community to grow more richly in our lives! 

I love and miss you Wednesdays!

Alexis is Here!!!

We couldn't be more excited to have my old "roomie" in town this weekend in ATX!  I feel so special that she would want to come visit us all the way from AZ!  Alexis is such a dear friend to me and I am so excited for our time together.  Can't wait to post our adventures from this cold and rainy weekend!  Even if we just get to cook together again, sit on the couch and drink coffee all day and chat, it will be perfect.  Yayyyyy!



Shower for Liz and Baby Elston

Beautiful invites by Kristen

This weekend I had the chance to throw a shower for my sweet friend and mom-to-be Liz.  I co-hosted with several of my high school girl friends.  It was by far the best high school reunion we've ever had!  I loved having the chance to catch up with these ladies and hear about life as of lately.  We had the shower at Katie's beautiful new home.  It all came together so nicely with beautiful decorations and drinks, tasty food, and fun games.  It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Liz and the arrival of Baby Elston!

Awesome diaper cake from Kristen and incredible sweets by Katie!  We had too much food but it was tasty! 

A fun DIY paper flower project that I came up with from blog browsing.

Dear friends!  Nicki was such a fun surprise all the way from Hawaii!  Isn't Liz the cutest prego you've ever seen?

LB playing the toilet paper game.  :)

 

We love you Liz and can't wait to meet Baby Elston!

2010 In Review

2010 has been one incredible year for me.  Just thinking through some of the highlights of my year, I'm blown away by God's goodness and rich blessings!  Hope you enjoy reading through this recap as much as I did reflecting on the year that's now behind us......

I started my 2010 as an engaged woman.  I kissed B on new years knowing that next new years I would be kissing him as his wife! Though we had a little longer of an engagement than we both would have liked, our pre-marriage counseling experience was most definitely one of my highlights of the year. We had the opportunity to sit in the home of Heath and Lisa Taylor and do life with them for weeks on end. We loved watching them parents their kids, talk through potential road blocks with us and pour truth and God's love into our minds and hearts.  We felt so loved and encouraged by the entire body of Old Town Bible during our engagement season. We grew so much as a couple during this time and I think this opportunity got us off to the best start possible in our new marriage.

Bittersweet, since we had to leave them, but definitely a highlight, were the friends and community that we had in Arizona.  From Old Town Bible to the large circle of friends we were blessed to call our own - God was overwhelmingly gracious to us in providing solid, meaningful relationships in our lives. We were honored that so many of our friends would travel to Austin for our wedding to celebrate us in April. I have so many great memories of potluck dinner parties, FBR golf weekends, hikes or even road trips to Cali.  I also had the sweet blessing to be near all of my grandparents, several cousins and aunts and uncles in Arizona.  I cherish that time we had while we lived there.    

In April we tied the knot.  Marrying the love of my life was by far the best highlight of 2010.  Our wedding day was everything I dreamed of, even with the rain, a day I will never forget.  I have been amazed by how much I've learned this year as we have started into our first months of marriage - about the Lord, about myself, about B and about us as a couple.  God's goodness has shown up in so many ways through this sweet and intimate blessing.  Marriage has been richer and deeper than I could have imagined.  I'm so blessed to be married to my very best friend for the rest of our lives. This takes the #1 spot for 2010, hands down. 

After our wedding day we took a wonderful honeymoon in Costa Rica.  We loved our stay there and felt like we only experienced the tip of the iceberg of all that you can do and see.  We had the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure with days spent by the pool enjoying our all-inclusive drinks in the cabana or taking surf lessons, snorkeling, kayaking, zip lining or exploring the volcanic mud-baths.  We wished it wouldn't end!  We are already planning our next beach trip to celebrate our one year anniversary!

Having the opportunity to move back to Texas this summer has been an unexpected and incredible blessing for the year.  We landed in a wonderful location in Central Austin on a fabulous street, with fantastic neighbors and have loved exploring this city once again as "adults".  We've had numerous visits by family and it has been so special to be able to go back and forth to see them and not have to hop on a plane to get there for a visit.  We've had the chance to travel to Blake's grandparent's house on Lake Quitman and have been able to venture home for other celebrations too!  This has been such a blessing and one that we did not expect to have happen in the way it all fell in place. 

Within a few weeks of coming back to Texas, God led us to Providence Church.  We felt like we had clear direction to be a part of the church as it was in the core team phase, looking to launch in early fall.  We were so blessed by the community that quickly loved and embraced us.  It felt like we were almost immediately surrounded by friends we felt we had known for a long, long time.  Providence is such a perfect name and so pertinent to what we have experienced by God's grace this year.  He's provided in so many ways for us and in ways we don't deserve. We are so excited about what God has in store for Providence!

This winter we spent our first holiday season as a married couple.  The biggest blessing is the way our families have blended so well together.  Our dads are nearly inseparable and love spending time together working on projects, racing their mustangs or just being "dudes."  I love that our moms are so similar, yet so uniquely different.  They also have enjoyed shopping and lunching together.  They knew each other through Bible study before Blake and I even considered dating!  The holidays were a wonderful time and each family made it so easy on us to be a part of all of the celebrations and really "share us" well.  After all of the horror stories you hear - we really have it easy.  So happy to be able to have both families under the same roof on many occasions as well. We couldn't have asked for a better situation.

There are so many other highlights that have made 2010 wonderful.  To name a few...but I know there are so many more....Visits from Loren or Jen to Austin; weekly date nights to musicals, the ballet, concerts or trying out new restaurants; a getaway weekend in San Diego before we moved; weekends filled with hikes and being in the great outdoors; seeing almost all of my family this year between 2 family weddings; standing up for my cousin Jessie at her wedding in Chicago; traveling to some amazing hotels and sites this year for work including the Trump Tower; having a stable job and the opportunity to start a brand new role and build it from the ground up; having a fantastic bachelorette party in Austin - a weekend not to forget!; and a second 80's themed party in Scottsdale; throwing showers and attending weddings for several dear friends; the list goes on!

So, so, so blessed by 2010.  Can't wait to see what's in store for 2011.

Weekend in Review: Ashley's Visit

Disclaimer: This post is really old and i've had it saved for a while wiating for some images.... but it was such a great time with Ash that I still wanted to post it!
I'm a little behind, but wanted to catch you up on my weekend adventures and joys....

I had such a great time spending a few days with Ashley. We covered a lot of ground in a few short days, caught up on life and reconnected. It was so sweet to just pick up where we left off. I'm so grateful for her friendship and for the time we got to spend together. She is such a person of depth, substance, wit, intelligence, passion and grace. I'm blessed to know her!

Thursday night Ashley arrived and we headed to Postino for dinner. One of my all time favorite spots in AZ. Over a good beer and some bruchetta we chatted under the misters. We shopped at the waterfront and headed over to Urban. It was a blast to try on a bunch of things together. Solid girly time.

Friday morning I had to go into the office, but Ashley walked into Old Town and enjoyed some time at Sola and other shops along the way. I made it home after picking up my hubs from the airport and we then went to the Biltmore for some pool time. After almost getting kicked out for not actually being guests at the pool, our kind waiter let us stay. We enjoyed a few drinks and some nice weather. Thank goodness for cooler days!

That evening we came back and prepped for Saturday's shower and then got cleaned up ourselves. We headed out into Old Town to meet up with some friends for some Mexican food. It was good to be with friends new and old all at one table. We tried to get into the Vig afterward, but the wait was insanely long - so we all came back to our casa for some vino (the boys chose some alternative beverages) and fun on the patio outside. SO nice to enjoy the last of the evenings where you actually want to be outside.

We got up very early Saturday morning and decided to head to Sedona to show Ashley the beauty of the red rocks and the "Vortex Effect" - just kidding about the vortex. We hiked West Fork Trail just north of the town. It's so beautiful there regardless of when you go. Blake and I did this hike last Winter and the trail was flanked by snow. This time it was a red dirt trail and the creeks were still flowing and the foliage was green and beauitful. It was a great time to chat and continue to catch up for Ash and I. We had lunch by the creek - packed in sandwiches, fruit and granola bars. Yum. It was a quick trip but totally worth it to get out of the heat and into nature. I think we just need that sometimes for our sanity. We stopped at one of my favorite Sedona joints for a Dirty Chai at the Bike & Bean . Blake scouted the merchandise while the rest of us put in our order for some much needed caffine.

Ashley had to return to Texas that night to be up Sunday morning to speak at our home church. I was so sad to see her go, but so thankful I had such great time with her. I'm honored that she would come to visit us during her short trip to the states. So so so thankful for our time together and for her friendship. She is precious to me.

Maybe we will have to make a trip to visit Ash in the Czech so we can do it all again soon!