Well I must be on a roll if I'm posting two blogs in one week! This past weekend we went to Houston to spend the weekend with my old friends from college. There are 3 of the old group in Houston: Steven, Julie, Jill and her fiance Sergei, 6 of us left in Austin: Keith, Ginny, Laura, Chris, me and Daniel, Angela and Aidan live in Dallas and Lisa and Ryan, who weren't able to come, live in San Antonio. Matt & Heather were also unable to join us since they moved to Virginia last summer--we missed you guys! We all decided to have our reunion in Houston this time around. Our Houston friends managed to put us all up in their homes---Jill and Sergei graciously offered up their spare room to us.
We left for Houston on Friday night and made it in town to enjoy Jill and Sergei's favorite Thai restaurant, Thai Gourmet, which really was some of the best Thai food I've ever eaten. It even disproved Daniel's theory that the extremely spicy at Thai restaurants is some sort of conspiracy theory...I'll let him explain that one....we met up with the rest of the crew at Steven's and hashed out American Idol, the Beatles edition part I until we decided to call it a night and meet up the next day for some grilling at Jill and Sergei's.
The next morning, Daniel and I braved the hills with Sergei, who is a personal trainer by profession, and his sporty spice hottie, one of my best friends, Jill. It was a little tough but fun in the end and made me feel I deserved the naughty breakfast tacos we ate soon after. Laura, Chris and Steven did all of the grocery shopping (thanks guys!) while we all got ready to have some fun in the sun. It was a GORGEOUS day that took place at really swank pool setting. The built-in gas grill and pavillion were perfect---take a look at the pictures that prove it.
Even my cousin Teresa and her daughter Yenny came out to play with us at the pool making it a near perfect day for me. I can't think of anything better than being surrounded by so many loved ones. Blue Moon beer with orange slices was the choice drink of the day and my Simple, Summer Strawberry Salad was a hit! Ginny gave me the great idea to include the recipe in my blog:
Simple Summer Strawberry Salad
Salad:
1 lb San Juan Spring Mix
1 pint fresh strawberries (cut)
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or toasted pecans
1 bunch green onions chopped
Dressing:
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
Combine ingredients for dressing in large jar. Shake
well and pour over salad before serving.
After lots of catching up and some hot tub relaxation, we all decided to get ready and go out for a few drinks! We ended up at Sherlock's Bakers Street Pub. It was not too loud and even though many of us were tired from all the sun during the day, I think the good company perked us all up again and we got our second wind. Steven came up with the great idea to go to Michael's Outpost, a dive piano bar that our spirited crew soon took over, mostly due to our cruise director with amazing vocals!! Steven Knott wooed the whole bar (all the guys in the back really were wooed) and made singing by a piano in front of strangers so much fun.
It has to be said that one of my favorite parts of the night was when my husband, Daniel Lauve, decided he was ready to sing and brought down the house and brought up the lights (it was the last song of the night) with American Pie. He sang it so well and I know this sounds weird but was just another reason that I'm sooo incredibly proud to be his wife!! I love that he still has tricks up his sleeve...
We ended a great weekend with a trip to Cafe Malay for a tour of Malaysian food with Aidan and Angela. Aidan taught us a few things and it was yet another great adventure with our friends. Thanks to all of you for recharging my friendship batteries---I love each of you so much and I can't wait to start planning our get together in June!
No comments:
Post a Comment