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!!

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!

Winner Winner Chicken (Breakfast) Dinner: Gloop

This week's favorite recipe was actually from Catherine's Bachelorette party and not from my weekly menu plan.  It was a perfect "sustenance" pre wine tasting for all of the ladies! 

This recipe is near and dear to me since it is what my family eats for Christmas morning each year.  The official name of the casserole is "Gloop."  It's one of my favorites to bring for brunches and is really simple, plus you can prepare it the night before and just bake it up in the morning.  I love adding mushrooms to the mix, but if you don't have them on hand it is just fine without.   Hope you enjoy as much as I do!

6 eggs slightly beaten

6 slices of bread cubed
1 cup grated sharp cheese
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt (or less)
1 t. dry mustard
1 lb sausage.

Brown sausage and drain. Meanwhile beat eggs and add rest of ingredients followed by sausage.  Refrigerate at least 12 hours in a 13 x 8 pan.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  Optional extras: mushrooms, onion

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!