In this Apartment

My absolute favorite room in this apartment would have to be

The KITCHEN!

I think it's the prettiest room in this apartment - I must confess that not only is this apartment one of the fanciest I've ever lived in... the kitchen is the fanciest one I've ever had.  I love the state-of-the-art furnishings and granite countertops & stainless steel!

Surprisingly - you'd think my next sentence would say that I love to cook and that I cook all the time.  I actually do like to cook from time to time but rarely do I get to cook...let me emphasize on rarely - I maybe get to cook ONCE, maybe TWICE a month if I'm lucky.

My favorite thing that I love even more about this kitchen is that my boyfriend is the one in this kitchen cooking.  He cooks for me about 5 to 6 evenings a week.  He LOVES to cook! Ladies, I definitely recommend finding yourself a man that loves to cook - it's definitely a real treat!  :o)

The nice thing about having a boyfriend that loves to cook - I only have to do the dishes.  Nothing too crazy, right?  Well, most of the time, it's not bad but sometimes- if Andrew gets a little overzealous & a little too passionate - the kitchen can actually turn into a disaster!  The delicious meals he creates sure do make up for it and hit the spot just right for me.

When I first met Andrew - we worked for the same company (we still work for the same company) - it took a little while to get to know him but after an extended period of time (he was pretty shy around me), I ended up stopping by his apartment one evening to pick up something and he was in the kitchen cooking- he made these chicken tacos and insisted that I try one.  One bite of that and I was drawn in & completely impressed. (I'm pretty sure I had 2 & had to refrain myself from helping myself to a third taco!)  I have a lot of guy friends but even they didn't possess the culinary skills & passion for food that this bachelor did!

Sure enough, after being friends for awhile, we started dating.  I must say that he has now turned me into a complete foodie!  I love food - I love trying new things and man, do I like GOOD food!

The only downside to all of this...

It has ruined my restaurant experience!

I'm so used to his cooking and how well he cooks - he impresses all our friends with his stellar cooking that I don't really like dining out that much.  Whenever I do dine out, once I take a bite or two of their food, all I can think is that I wasted my money and that we could have had something better to eat at home.  

When I do dine out or when Andrew & I go out on a dinner date - it's typically sushi or an asian restaurant and some good ole Texan BBQ!  There are a handful of local Austin restaurants that we adore going out to eat and we still check out many new places to try - but Andrew's cooking is my absolute favorite.

I feel bad for our future kids - they are not gonna like eating at their friends' houses because they will like their Daddy's food better!  That's a way from now so maybe our future kids' friends' parents can try to step their game up in the meantime?  Ha ha ha!

Andrew's dream is to have his own restaurant and one of the things he wants to do is to open up a food truck as a stepping stone to having his own restaurant someday.  He already has an idea and a delicious menu set up for a food truck.  We have a wonderful friend in Dallas that said that he would help Andrew out and invest in this opportunity.  Andrew's dream may turn into a possibility and I hope we can turn that into a reality someday soon.  I feel that is something he will seriously look into after the holidays and I'll be right there with him!

Mmmmmm!  Andrew is cooking my dinner right now for the two of us and a few friends.  I'm off to go enjoy myself a delicious meal!

Happy Dining!

XoXo,

Meg

Decorated my place for Fall 2 weeks ago - Here are the results!

Summer is actually my favorite season.

I love the blazing hot sun, the warmth on my skin and all the activities I throw myself into the outdoors and the water.

Autumn seems like such a rude ending to summer.  School is back in session, the holiday season in the retail world keeps me extremely busy - longer hours, trainings for promotions and new phones coming out within weeks between each launch.

It's nice to come home and relax with a pumpkin ale and sit on the balcony in the evening's gentle breeze.  Fortunately, Austin has nice weather all year round and I don't have to dread the winter like many others that live further up north do.

So I am content with the warm fall weather in this fair city splat in the middle of Texas.

When it comes to decorating- I do love FALL!

Last year in Dallas - I went crazy with the pumpkins - I had decorated my apartment with mini pumpkins - white pumpkins, orange pumpkins, squash and I discovered the fairy tale pumpkins!  I must confess I splurged a little too much on those pumpkins.

This year, I told myself to have a little more self-control.

The fact that I could barely find any fairy tale pumpkins at HEB and Walmart - they were scarce and the few I did find, they were moldy or just not like cute in my eyes.

Which brings me to the point of this blog - I decided this year I would be "creative" and actually make my own decorations.  I love looking on pinterest for ideas & always wanted to be 'crafty' like some amazing artsy people I know - my mother and my cousin, Danielle are so extremely talented and I wish I was alot more crafty like them - but I realize that I could be crafty if I just take a chance and put some time into it.  

I ventured out to Hobby Lobby and Michaels (the craft store) for ideas and inspiration - and for the first time, I didn't feel overwhelmed in the aisles of the crafts trying to wonder what I could do with this and that.  I felt inspired and excited.

As much as I love pumpkins, I decided my theme for this year would be...

Candy Corn!!!

That's right, I decided to do something a little different and boy did I have a blast with it!

I made this.  Styrofoam cones with yarn wrapped around it!  So easy & so fun to make!

I made this candy corn tree - I enjoyed this craft the most - All I needed was a colored jar, a tree branch that I found laying on the ground outside my apartment - some hot glue and bags of candy corn galore!

So much you can do with candy corn - I put it in this cute little vase and put a candle in it and just filled it with candy corn.  :o)  I think it turned out pretty cute!

Other small decorations around the house!!!


The next picture I'm going to post is a wreath that I made for my front door.  I made the whole thing from scratch.  I had purchased a styrofoam wreath last year in the hopes of wanting to make a cute wreath for Christmas but I felt so overwhelmed in the crafts aisle and my mind was having an artist's blank.  I couldn't picture anything.  So when I pulled it out of a craft box a few weeks ago, I thought I'd just do something more Halloween with it - One trip to Hobby Lobby and I just grabbed random pieces and wrapped it with a beautiful sheer glittery fabric and then added stuff to it.  I am happy with how it turned out and even more proud that I didn't have to steal an idea from Pinterest.  It's an original.  :o)

I feel like the wreath looks way cooler in person but the pictures will have to do for now.

I'm going to enjoy this all until November 1st - I will take the Halloween things down and replace it with some more pumpkins - maybe I'll make a turkey (not the turkey in the oven kind!)

I think Andrew is proud of me for the little budding talent within me but pretty impressed that I did all this stuff for less than $15!

More money for Christmas shopping!


Hope y'all enjoy!

XoXo,

Meg

Let me Introduce myself

My name is Megan.

Everyone calls me Meg.

I currently reside in Austin, Texas - truthfully, I have been calling this city my home since January of 2009 and I couldn't imagine ever living in another city.

Although, I did live in Dallas from June 2013 till May of 2014.  Dallas was NOT my cup of tea and I was so excited to move back to Austin.  :)

My friends all live here - they have become my family.

My amazing family resides in Kansas and in the Washington D.C. area - which brings me to the point of creating this blogspot.  I decided to create this blogspot so that family and friends from all over can have a daily peek into my life and what all is going on.  My cousin Danielle has one and I enjoy reading hers so much and following up on her life and how her kids are doing -  I knew that my parents and my boyfriends' family would enjoy having a daily look into our lives.  :)

I know that I have facebook but I feel like it's not quite so personal and that this blogspot will be more enjoyable for others.  

I plan to post a little bit of everything - places that I've visited, food that I've eaten/a recipe that Andrew and I tried out and absolutely loved, DIY crafts, social gatherings with friends, music shows or outdoor activities --- just a little of everything on here & I know y'all will enjoy it.

xoso,

Meg