it's my fort worthaversary...

Three years ago, I packed up all of my belongings in a ridiculously large U-Haul and headed north on the highway to Fort Worth.  This decision was not easy.  At the time, I so would have preferred to stay in my college bubble of friends and never leave Hunstville... or at least stay near it.  But I knew after lots of prayer that this is where the Lord wanted to lead me... and I certainly wanted to follow.  My plan was to live in Fort Worth for my years in grad school and then immediately move back south to Houston....
And three years later, here I am.  Grad school has been done for eight months and I have no plan to move anywhere anytime soon.  And I absolutely love it.  So with that said, it is my Fort Worthaversary... and yes, I definitely did just make up a word to celebrate my 3 year anniversary of living in Ft. Worth.  It seemed only fitting to commemorate this huge moment with a post dedicated to the love I have for this town.

Thinking back over these past 3 years, I thought the best way to present all that I want to say is listing out all of the fantastic things (as quick as possible) that these years have consisted of... all playing their parts in making this time super fun and memorable in their own ways.  Or else we may be here for days if I went into detail about each little thing.  And nobody wants that.  So here we go (and I'm going to try to stay in order as much as my memory allows)....

Brand new one-bedroom apartment with cute vaulted ceilings.  New, super fun, fantastic single girl friends.  The introduction of fantastic in my vocab thanks to a new friend.  The Texas State Fair.  Boyz II Men concert.  Two-stepping.  Downtown Dallas during UT-OU game.  Crazy amounts of school work.  Trail Lake Starbucks.  Ridiculous nicknames for absolutely everyone at our school.  This Thing.  Basically all of us living at Jess' apartment.  Family dinners.  Shoot em up movies.  Carpooling to the Village.  Quitting the crazy nanny job.  Karaoke at Sbux.  Salsa dancing.  Meet Me Under the Mistletoe Christmas party.  Carroll Park.  All-nighters.  Very first snow day in FW.  Valentine's Day at Rio Mambo.  Rock Band.  Basically living at Katie and Jac's apt.  Taquitos in the middle of the night.  Spring Break by introducing the South Carolinian to Houston.  Being the closest people at Fergie's concert.  Curtis' birthday punch.  Six Flags with the long-time bestie.  Hell Presentation with the girls.  Summer Fun Day Mondays.  McKinney church.  The Angelika with crazy independent movies.  JD's Chippery cookies.  More new friends.  Moving to Carroll Park with Jen.  Cramped tiny closets full of clothes.  Rangers games.  Being allowed to actually counsel real people.  Austin road trip for John Piper.  Best concert of my life with New Kids on the Block and my sissy.  Lots of proposals and engaged friends.  Curtis' famous barbeques.  Texas Stampede rodeo in Dallas.  Getting kicked out of TCU library.  Baseball girl team for Halloween.  Wedding galore.  Katie and Jessica moved in.  Shouting through the walls.  Mama Raven.  PT Cruiser rental.  Hockey games.  Weekend in Boerne.  Phil Wickham amazingness.  Daffodil gardens.  The boys asking me if I knew I was in an accident.  Amazing friends that nursed me back to health.  The coveted Cobalt.  Finally pictures at the Water Gardens while freezing.  Blindfolded Curtis busting it.  Resurrection Barbeque.  Easter weekend at the Stockyards.  Slide-a-palooza.  Phil Wickham in Ft Worth.  Sissy's wedding.  The swing.  The competition for the swing.  Pure Bliss obsession.  More wedding galore.  Random one-day river trip.  Katie's karaoke machine.  JoBros concert.  Back-to-school karaoke party.  The fantastic four.  Free Cowboys games.  Halloween in a corn maze.  Girls weekend at the Gaylord.  My Cross-Cultural group project.  Our perfect real Christmas tree.  GRADUATION.  Our grad party with Curtis' amazing cake.  Graduation celebration cruise.  Chopping all the hair off.  Moving to our new grown-up apartment.  Craigslist craziness.  Nick Jonas at the House of Blues.  Sunday lunches at Red Hot and Blue.  Being a kindergarten teacher.  People being forever late to the house-warming party.  Sitting Diamond Club at the Astros game.  Monday TV night with the girls.  The time warp at the Magic Time Machine.  Lots of snow.  The night of the Ginger Man.  Jen's 80's birthday weekend.  Esparza's with the girls.  Sushi and Wicked.  Our 25th Birthday River Trip Extravaganza.  The block luau party.  Rainy Kaboom Town with picnic in the parking lot.  Pool time with the floats.  New job and my own cubicle.  Fireworks at the Gaylord.  Housesitting mania.  Fort Worthaversary celebration at the rooftop of the Reata. 

WHOA!  I absolutely love Fort Worth and these past three years of my life.  And even though I probably missed mentioning some other fabulous things, but that just goes to show how much FUN has happened here. 

Here's to the continued awesomeness in the next year....

just call me a sweet treat connoisseur...

I absolutely love sweet treats.  Always have and it's looking like I always will.  When I was a kid, one of my nicknames was 'cookie monster' because I was constantly traipsing over to the cookie jar at my grandparent's house.  This of course can have it's downfalls (lots of deliciousness also equals lots of calories) but at the same time I would probably choose something sweet over something real.  And by real, I mean the food you serve for dinner.  So because of this obsession, I find it very interesting to discover and experience all of the yummy dessert places that the metroplex has to offer.  When I find these places and they are DELISH, I find it necessary to share the yumminess.  So I thought it only fair to share here.  

FAVORITE COOKIES

There is a place that was sent straight from heaven and plopped right down in Dallas and decided to start baking cookies and name itself JD's Chippery.  Pure heaven, I tell you.  They constantly bake cookies all day long so they are fresh, chewy, and deliciousness in your mouth.  They also serve muffins and fun fountain drinks that include the must-have cherry limeade.  My favorite cookie (although they are all AHH-MAZING) is the peanut butter chocolate chip with M&M's and Snickerdoodle a close tie for second.  Can't go to Dallas without stopping in... that would be a tragedy.

 

FAVORITE CUPCAKES

 

Little cupcake places have become all the rage and I had always heard about how incredible Sprinkle's in Dallas was before I moved to the DFW area.  I of course had to try it out, but then I discovered something even better... and closer, which is always a benefit.  The Cupcake Cottage located right in Fort Worth is family-owned in which they bake the same amount of cupcakes everyday and keep the place open until the last cupcake sells.  And believe me, they sell out... EARLY.  It is always quite the sad day when you pull up and see 'SOLD OUT FOR THE DAY' hanging in the window.  Thankfully they offer to hold cupcakes for you if you call early in the day.  Those sweet, sweet people.  They make different flavors everyday which they post on their website.  So far my favorite has been Peanut Butter Cup... it's peanut butter and has bits of chocolate in the cake.  You may be recognizing the pattern of my love for peanut butter and chocolate.

 

FAVORITE YOGURT

 

Ok, now if you are alive and even remotely observant, you have noticed all of the million yogurt places going up on every corner.  These places are usually decorated super brightly and offer a self-serve bar of a variety of flavors along with a toppings bar that include all kinds of yummy items.  With all of these yogurt place options, we have been super picky and had a favorite place in Arlington called Pure Bliss which we felt driving 15 minutes to visit was worth it.  But then Yogurtland moved in to the Montgomery Square Plaza area of Fort Worth and something dramatic happened... Pure Bliss got trumped.  And this is a bold statement, people.  Yogurtland offers a TON of options for flavors and toppings.  My favorite right now is the Nilla Wafer flavor mixed with some kind of chocolate flavor (I mix it up with different ones) and then throw in some Reese's chunks and Cheesecake Bits and sometimes add Nutter Butters and the Nilla Wafer cookies.  YUM.  Only 30 cents per ounce!  Deliciousness at a cheap price and served with a super cute pink or lime green spoon.  Gotta love it.

 

FAVORITE ICE CREAM

 

Alright so here is a less trendy place that I absolutely fell in love with when I moved to the metroplex that I had always heard rumors of... the one and only Braum's.  Growing up on the ice cream of Dairy Queen, the chain of Braum's has got them beat.  You can get delicous ice cream or yogurt (or food that I can't recommend because I haven't tried it) right through the drive-thru.  My favorite?  The chocolate yogurt that is perfectly mixed with Reese's chunks.  It makes me excited to see the Braum's start popping up as I drive back to North Texas from down south.  All becomes right in the world again.

 

FAVORITE GELATO

 

Gelato was a new discovery for me when I moved to the metroplex, first tasting this italian ice cream at Central Market.  So although I can't honestly say I've tried a million places to judge the all-time best, I was taken to Paciugo by a friend that has actually gone to Italy before.  I was instantly impressed by all of the different yummy flavors (thank you gelato lady for the samples) and decided to mix it with another one of my favorite things.  You guessed it... coffee.  I instantly ordered a cappucino con gelato with coffee flavored gelato.  Thank you, Italy.  You are served absolute yumminess in a super cute shop decorated with gelato spoons on the chandelier in the new fun area of Fort Worth.  Can't beat that.

 

FAVORITE FROZEN CUSTARD

 

Something else I had not experienced before was frozen custard until I was taken to Curly's Frozen Custard.  The place is decked out with picnic tables and cute patio lights hanging all around since you actually do not go inside, but walk up to the window and order.  There are all kind of 'concretes' or there is also specialties they offer.  I of course have gone with the Death by Chocolate option very often and have NOT regretted it.  The place even has a drive-thru.  Convenient, adorable, and tasty.

 

FAVORITE CAKES

 

With an overflow of bakeries all around, it was hard to figure out which one had the all-time best cakes to order.  Then came The Swiss Pastry Shop swooping in to save the day.  They are known for their amazing Black Forest Cake, but we've also ordered other cakes from there that were to die for.  Gotta warn you... this is not your trendy, happy bakery.  These ladies are in no way friendly and don't really care about your business.  They obviously figured out a long time ago that someone there can bake better than anyone in town so no reason to suck up to anyone.  Can't blame them... I'm going there for the cakes and not to be their best friend.

Well there you go my friends... my all-time fav dessert places in the metroplex.  If you are ever around any of these, I STRONGLY encourage you to stop at them immediately and enjoy.  Because you know you want to.  And if you know of somewhere delicious you think would make me happy, please tell me immediately.  Because I know I want you to.
        

it's all for the love...

So as you may have noticed by the name of my blog, I seem to have a bit of attachment to coffee.  Let's both drink a latte and discuss.  This probably all started when I used to visit my grandparent's house when I was little and they had coffee time everyday at 3 pm.  My wonderful Grandad decided that I should be able to drink coffee too and started to slip me some (because what mom really wants their child drinking coffee).  And it's pretty much been love ever since. 

Every Wednesday my Grandad would pick me up from elementary school (for piano lessons which I took for 6 years and refused to learn anything) and head to his house for some coffee and chocolate pudding.  (Can you see why I refused to quit piano even though I obviously had no desire to play?)  Coffee time with Grandad quickly became one of my all-time favorite things.  As I grew older and drinking coffee seemed a little bit more appropriate, that is when I began to explore cappucinos with my friends usually courtesy of the gas station.  I knew that I loved coffee, but I also knew that I had no idea how to even prepare my own cup because my precious Grandad always did that for me. 

As I went off to college, my love continued and that is the first time I lived in the same town as a Starbucks.  I'm pretty sure angels probably sang a hallelujah chorus as they built that Starbucks so close to my apartment building.  I quickly gave up my gas station cappucinos and began my commitment to the real thing.  However, being a college student and trying to maintain my love affair with coffee at such a high price, I knew that something needed to be done.  Luckily by this point, I had friends that shared the same love and explained that I indeed was in it enough to use my own coffee pot.  This was a tiny little contraption that my mom had bought for the sole intention of being able to brew coffee for when she would visit.  I was quickly discouraged but then I realized that my wonderful Nana had also offered me a fancier coffeepot that brewed right in to two travel coffee mugs.  Between the two of these, I knew that I would be okay.  I began to purchase my own coffee and re-learned how to brew it (since a chore growing up was to brew my mom's coffee) and was on my way.  It got to the point where my great friend Andrea would pick me up for school and there would be 2 travel mugs of coffee ready for us to go.  Gotta love friends that share the love.  

At my college graduation, I knew what needed to happen.  People began to ask me what I would like for my next move into the world and I quickly requested a coffee pot.  My aunt that ended up purchasing me one thought I was completely crazy, but followed through by buying me an absolutely fantastic one.  Favorite college graduation present ever.  This coffee pot has now moved with me to Fort Worth and brewed coffee for me every morning and random other times of the day since.  Entering grad school definitely increased my love and dependence on coffee.  My coffee pot began to experience being brewed from anywhere to 6 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon to 2 in the morning.  My love for coffee became crucial to graduating from grad school. 

People tend to tease me about my love (or obsession as they may call it) for coffee.  This may be because of my insistence of never going a road trip without Starbucks, the instant happiness I feel when coffee is mentioned, my strong desire to drink coffee black just to be hardcore, Starbucks baristas recognizing me and knowing my drink, or the fact that I'm just plain addicted. 

No matter how you look at it, coffee just makes everything better: life decisions, sweet time with friends, dessert, reading a good book, spending some precious time with the Lord, driving in the car, waking up in the morning...

Let's be honest, I could go on forever.  But I won't.  I know that not everyone may share my love (which I cannot understand for the life of me) but I will respect that... as long as you respect the love.  I don't judge you for your strange Diet Coke addictions. 

here comes the news...

Hello blog world... I promise I am STILL alive!  These past few weeks have been on the tad bit crazy side... hence the eerie silence here.  Quite a bit has happened in my life (which is the shocker of the nation) so I figured I am going to come at you in a news report style.  Well here's the thing... my roommate is obsessed with the news.  And when I say obsessed, I mean that is what seems to be playing non-stop ever since the fancy TV arrived in our lives.  Now I understand that we still have not succumbed to the temptation of cable, but we still have the option of popping a TV series DVD in and watching that.  There's no rule that we HAVE to watch what's on TV just because we have that option now.  But whatever.  Back to the news of my life... and let's hope it's not as depressing and a little bit more entertaining as what is being played in my living room 24/7...

• I have officially hung up my hat as a Kindergarten teacher since our school ended 2 weeks ago and I won't be returning in the Fall.  I had an absolute blast with those kiddos and feel so blessed to have been their teacher for that period of time.  I definitely learned so much being in the classroom atmosphere both from the amazing teachers I worked with and the great students that I got to spend my days with.  I am grateful to have that experience!
• I have accepted the Nursery Coordinator position at my church, McKinney Memorial Bible Church.  I have worked in the Children's Ministry in some type of capacity for the last 2 years which all just began as a summer intern position.  I guess I'm just the intern that never left and for some reason, they let me stay!  One of my very dear friends, Amanda has been the nursery coordinator for the past 5 years and has done an absolutely FANTASTIC job so it's going to be big shoes to fill.  Luckily she's not going far so I can still call her if I need to.  Right Amanda?!?!?!?!  Even though it's definitely a new challenge and something I may not have guessed that would have been on my path, I am super excited about the opportunity because I absolutely love McKinney and all of the families and children there!  I consider myself blessed to be able to minister to them in any way at all!

• Since I just laid down 2 big ones, I'll go with an obvious one.  I'll be staying in Fort Worth for a while longer!  Katie and I are re-signing our lease so the dynamic duo are sticking together for a good while longer.  I'm excited about this because I do absolutely love our grown-up apartment and this town so a big YAY to that!
• Katie and I actually just finished up our "stay-cation" at the Kashuba's while they were mission tripping it in Mexico this past week!  They asked if we would be willing to stay at their house all week and watch their house, dog, and POOL.  Um, DUH!  So we stayed at our resort away from home all week included with pool and pet and we were set to go.  I gotta say... house-sitting isn't a bad gig. 
• Our old dryer that we nearly got killed over buying from Craigslist BROKE.  Let's be honest, it was no surprise.  When random Craigslist dude pulled it out of his jam-packed rat-infested garage, it was OLD.  But we felt obligated so we did what any 2 pushover girls would do if they were put in that situation... we bought it, scrubbed it down and we loved it.  Until it broke.  But then the most AMAZING thing ever happened.  One of the all-time best families at my church that I just absolutely love offered me a free dryer that I could use until they need it again.  Thank you Jesus!  I mean seriously people, the laundry was getting ridiculously piled up.  And thank you amazing Ater family... I don't know what I would do without yall and everything you do for me!
• I'm not a bridesmaid in a single wedding this year.  Can we all just collectively say a loud AMEN right now!  Last year I was in about 124,000 (or at least it felt that way at the time) so it has been nice to have a year off.  Don't get me wrong... I absolutely loved each bride, shower, bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner and wedding that I was apart of but it can wear a girl out.  Especially when more than half of them were not even in the same town as me.  I'll be in the house party in October in one of my good friend's weddings and I can honestly say I've never been more excited to just cut some cake.  But I do need some cake-cutting training first.... Anyone???





• Can we just touch on The Bachelorette real quick, fast, and in a hurry?  Actually, you know what?  Forget Ali, Roberto, and Frank.  I'm not going to talk about them because Ali is annoying and Frank is lame and aggravating.  And Roberto is just Roberto... Ali talks about him enough.  Let's talk about Chris L.  I would marry him TOMORROW if he asked me and figure out a way to forget all about the fact that he accepted the fantasy suite from Ali.  Get him reformed real fast is what one of my friends suggested.  I'm thinking Ali is an idiot and won't choose him and they might make him the next Bachelor.  That seriously might be reason enough to apply.... I said MIGHT.  Granted there is no way I would drink like a fish the way they do and they would be real upset with my response to the fantasy suite... but hey, maybe Chris L. could still love me.

• This would be the inspirational part of the news where it's not really current events but it's just a special story.  I have the all-time best mom in the world.  I'm not just saying that because she's my mom, but she is honestly pretty flippin' fantastic.  She doesn't know this, but I actually started to write a post about her months ago and wasn't able to go through with it because I realized there was no way I could do her justice.  That definitely may sound like a cop-out, but it really is the honest truth.  She is the one person in my life that I have always looked up to, that has had amazing strength in every situation, and loves her family and friends like no other.  She deserves way more than she usually gets, but that is where her fantastic perseverance and resilence comes from.  She's taught me more about the love of Christ through her actions than she probably ever could through her words.  For that Mom, I thank you SO much.  You absolutely rock.

Well with that, my friends, this news report is done.  I hope you feel up to speed with my life and I promise that I will not disappear off the face of the earth again anytime soon.  Here's to August... a jam-packed over-heated month!  It's gonna be awesome!