WINE O'CLOCK

One of our favorite ways to wind down is over wine, snacks (and by snacks I mean cheese, cheese, more cheese and some fruit) and good company. Looks like the cheese was gone by the time we took these photo's. typical. Our whole family/extended family is big on three things: coffee, chocolate and wine. Brandi and I becoming winos was just inevitable. I kid, but really... We always try to grab a new bottle or two under $25 every time we are beverage shopping. Over the past couple of years, we've added quite a few wines to our 'favorites' list and our latest discovery is The Naked Grape box wines. We are currently digging the Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio. These have been awesome for weekend trips to Austin, the pool, picnics, the river, and the beach because we don't have to worry about glass breaking, the box isn't the typical embarrassing sight and it's really good. We are now true fans.

Sometimes when drinking wine during the day us ladies mix La Croix or Topo Chico in with the wine and add some frozen fruit for a little wine spritzer.... You know it slows our roll. The guys like to make their own Sangria concoctions by adding coca cola to theirs.

I really wish we all had more family wine time. Life is crazy busy and it can be so difficult to with everyone's work schedules, love life and all that extra stuff. I'm so thankful for my crazy friends and family and our routine "Wine O' Clock" hangouts where everyone brings a new wine to taste and a different kind of cheese to pair it with.

What kind of wines are you into?  Have you tried any good boxed wines? What about screw top wine? I'm a big fan of those because I always forget the cork screw.

BUENO CHRISTMAS 2012

 
 

 

1- Playing in in the Country on Christmas Eve Eve.
2- Grandpa's Mini Horse Cookie is the sweetest!
3- Cookie, let's be serious.
4- My crazy Family.
5- It's getting Harder and harder to get a decent family photo.
6- Making sure everythings perfect for Christmas.
7- Annual Greek Balias Christmas Party. Oh Asher...
8- Our Best Friends hats fell apart same day that we got them:(
9- Everybody needs a nerf gun!
10- This Santa was Jacobs Grandpas. I love it!
11- Last but not least, Christmas with The Bacquets (2nd year in a row)

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Today is the only day I am working at the salon this week. Kelly goes back to work at the factory and tomorrow we will both be at the Stash Co. factory and I couldn't be more thrilled!

Another thing I'm thrilled about is that I am going to SURF CAMP with Rannie in 17 Days!!!
lets see if I can give up sugar until then..... 

SHOEBOX STORIES: 25 yr old him, 25 yr old me

I'm not sure when I came to be the owner of this photo or when, but at some point in time this photo of my Pops sitting in his old truck made its' way out of the ol shoebox and into my possession.

This photo lives on the top ledge of my sewing table. The other night my pops caught a glimpse of it  and said 'Holy crap, is that my old truck?' Apparently, he'd never even seen this photo. I guess it was just one of those photos that my mom snapped, developed and put in a shoebox for all these years. Again, I have no idea how this photo made its way to me, but here it is.  My Pops told me this was the truck he owned when he was twenty-five and it was his first and only new vehicle that he's ever owned to this day. Over and over he repeated 'Oh man, I loved that truck...' I was just born, Brandi was six, and my parents were moving us to Colorado from Houston, Texas. Everyone kept telling my pops that the truck was an awful vehicle for colorado and all the snow. So after hearing that from enough folks he let fear take over and he sold his love for a 'dang family van'. haha. While he was holding this photo in his hand shaking his head and laughing he said he even bought the rims separate and took it in to be 'pimped out'. You see all those pin stripes? Yep, my Pops took the truck to an old shop, down the road from where he grew, up in Sharpstown to a cross eyed fella named Milburn. Pops watched Milburn do most of the stripe work free hand.

It was weird watching my Pops react to a photo of his life that he had never seen and re live and tell the story as if it just happened. I have a terrible memory and I don't think of myself as a good story teller, but I hope one day I can offer little family history stories here and there to my kids one day (you know, if that ever happens). It was also weird to think, my pops was 25, married with two kids and moving a family to another state. I'm 25 with half of my life in a single bedroom, the other half in storage, in love, a passion for design and travel, and living completely different. I can't even imagine making choices like giving up a vehicle that I love for the safety of my family. I mean, of course I would do that, but to think of making those kinds of choices and sacrifices at this point in my life is foreign.

While pursuing dreams, it's easy to get tunnel vision and make decisions only for yourself, so hearing little stories like this help keep me grounded and to remember to make good decision and to keep in mind the ones I love. I admire my Pops and when he tells me stories of his life, that grows. I want to be that person for my kids too. I admire 25 year old him. I hope they'll admire 25 year old me.


Thank you for all the comments, I've loved reading them! Paul asked what my Pops drives now... well after a long list of used cars (most without ac) he's still putting miles on a '97 GMC Sierra pickup. Boy, is that thing a site. It's been hit by un insured Houstonians a few times and the passenger door doesn't open from the inside, so Pops has to open the door for who ever rides with him. I love it. I think my pops will ride it out until it's completely dead, then who knows what's next.