Houston Holiday Fun Time

With Thanksgiving being so late this year, the holiday events at work were jam-packed into the first two weeks of December.  The first weekend was the Nutcracker Ballet- we had tickets to the performance (good seats!) and a reception in the Green Room with a backstage tour.  I managed this event from beginning to end, and there were extra tickets that were going to go to waste, so I got to go.  Normally we don't attend arts performances, but I couldn't pass up such good free tickets to the Nutcracker! The Houston Ballet is critically acclaimed, but I still prefer the Denver performance (not that I'm biased or anything...)

My favorite holiday event was a bike building party for all of the hospital directors.  Our hospital president wanted to do something philanthropic rather than just have another party-  we ordered 50 bikes and all of the tools needed to assemble them. I think the attendees had a good time, and all of the bikes were built before the party was over!  We also had a bar set up and food catered for the event. The bikes, along with other toys, were later given out to under privileged kids at a Breakfast with Santa.

I made out like a bandit and took home a bunch of leftovers to serve at our Lights in the Heights party the following weekend.

For our White Elephant office party, this year I was brave and gave the gift of "One Live Fiddle Tune played by Erin B" (along with one of those plastic tube candy canes filled with mini bottles of booze).  It is fair to say I won the party.  I was surprised how many people didn't know I played the fiddle considering I tell this to everyone I meet..The hostess even bribed me with "Whatever bottle of wine you want" if I played another song so I came home with 3 bottles of wine and some MD Anderson Christmas Cards.

 Lights in the Heights happened again and we had another party.  My friend Ellen had planned to have a party too but had to cancel at the last minute, so we combined parties which meant there were a lot of random people in our house but that made things more interesting! I made another batch of punch and people brought so much food and things to drink! All of my bike party leftovers were consumed too.  I tried to make boozy jello to cut into Christmas shapes with cookie cutters- it didn't set up right so it came out as boozy bright red and green goo but people still ate it! I was in major bottle/can pick-up mode, in hopes of preventing a bad cleanup the next morning, but still managed to have a good time. The house was clean and everyone was kicked out by 1:30 a.m.

Another surprise visit to Colorado and Thanksgiving in Dallas

My brother Joseph played hooky from work to pick me up from the airport-
I finally got to try Snooze for breakfast and it was worth the hype!

In August, two of my oldest and dearest friends got engaged to each other! Jesse (who I've known the longest- since 1st grade) and Michelle (who became an instant friend freshman year) are high school sweethearts and two of my favorite people (the sweater party/Christmas burrito people of blog posts past).  After almost 10 years of dating Jesse, finally popped the question!

Cheers to the happy couple!

I had been feeling pretty homesick in October/November, and flights were cheap so I decided to book a quick weekend home.  Guy and Thomas had a trip planned to do an early Thanksgiving in D.C. with their sister Rebecca the weekend of 11/9, and I was debating between going home that same weekend or the following one.  Once I found out Jesse and Michelle's engagement party was the 2nd weekend, my decision was a whole lot easier to make. Even though I wasn't 'officially' invited (they only invited people who live in-state), I thought it would be fun to make a surprise appearance.  Sadly my friends can't keep a secret and someone told the happy couple and ruined the surprise, but the end of the day, that didn't really matter. What mattered was I got to be there to celebrate with them and all of our friends. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one of our group who moved away, which means I very often suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out).  Their wedding is going to be so much fun! After the robbery incident, I was even happier to be home and able to spend extra time and get extra hugs from my parents and brothers. My parents made a turkey dinner one night so we could have an early family Thanksgiving together too.  So much to be grateful for!

We went to Dallas for the actual Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  Guy's parents had planned to go to Durango, but I convinced them to stay in Texas so we could all celebrate together.  After work on Tuesday night we drove up, and enjoyed a relaxing long weekend with them.  I am very thankful they live close (but not too close) in Dallas. On trend with the rest of 2013, I got to see Adrienne again because she spends every Thanksgiving in Dallas also.  I saw her two weekends in June, the 4th of July, the first weekend in September, twice in November and of course when I went home for Christmas! That is like 2-3 times more than I saw my parents- she's the best.

Our 2013 Lights in the Heights!

He helped trim the tree this year!

Guy and I decided to beat the traffic and returned to Houston on Saturday, allowing us to put up the Christmas lights and tree on Sunday.  We finally got to utilize the hooks that were already on the house for the outdoor lights! 

He did a great job risking his life to get those lights so high up on the roof.

Thanksgiving was late this year (11/28) and because I'm a stickler about the Christmas season beginning on Black Friday, I had to wait what felt like extra long this year to start getting in the holiday spirit.  Don't worry- I caught up.

Zombie Belle Gets Robbed at Gunpoint

Halloween isn't a holiday that needs to be dragged out or celebrated two weekends in a row. Dressing up is fun, etc but there's no law that says you can't dress up and drink any other night of the year.  This year I went as "Zombie Belle" and Guy (who didn't feel like dressing up) put some fake blood on his ear and went as Vincent Van Gogh (they look pretty similar).  

We went to a party with some friends and they had to leave early- I didn't really know as many people there as I thought and was ready to leave too.  We eventually left with the intention of walking until we found a cab, but never did.  When we were all but two blocks from our house, a car pulled up across the street and down a little bit from the corner we were standing on, and a man came up to us with a hood pulled up and a gun raised.  

A GUN! WTF!? He said "Give me your shit right now or I'll fucking shoot you." Nothing will sober you up faster than a person POINTING A GUN AT YOU.  Guy tossed him his wallet, I threw my clutch in his general direction.  Then he said "Get on the ground and don't try to look up at me or I will fucking shoot you."  This was definitely not his first rodeo. We got on our hands and knees and looked straight down at the ground- 

he ran back to the car and drove away. 

Once the car was out of sight, we stood up and brushed ourselves off.  I had a moment of hyperventilating "holy shit. holy shit. oh my god. did that just happen? holy shit". Guy gave me a big hug and told me it was ok, we were ok.  No harm was really done, aside from losing Guy's wallet, my clutch (which only had my dead phone, some lipgloss and my Costco membership card) and our sense of security in what was supposed to be the 'safe' area of the Heights.  I remember sprinting home and immediately calling the cops. And then immediately changing clothes and wiping off my zombie makeup.  Guy called and cancelled his credit cards, I put my phone in "lost mode" and we filed a police report. The police let us know that these types of crimes are rarely solved, due to the police force's lack of resources and attention being dominated by homicides and kidnappings- to which I scoffed "This COULD HAVE BEEN EITHER ONE OF THOSE." It didn't matter. By some great luck, Guy chose to leave his cell phone at home, and I didn't bring out my wallet - overall, things could have been so. much. worse. Something like this could happen to anyone, anywhere. It was terrifying and terrible, but it could have been so much worse, and I am so thankful it wasn't.  People were asking if we planned to get a concealed handgun license- but if I had one, that would've meant that A. I brought a handgun to a Halloween party and B. The thief would now have two guns because there is no way I would have escalated the situation by trying to fish my gun out of my purse and defend us.  I will never 'walk until I find a cab' again. Even in the safest of neighborhoods.  

There two major insults to the injury.  The first was that whoever ended up with my phone was charging up the battery and driving it all around Houston (presumably trying to sell it?) and because I had put it in "lost mode", I would receive an e-mail anytime my phone connected to the internet in a particular location that said "Erin B's iPhone has been found". I forwarded all of these e-mails to the police investigator assigned to my case, and they eventually led to me going down to the station to look at some photos but as of now (1/8) I haven't heard anything from them.  I wanted to press charges to stop the precedent that this crime goes unpunished in our neighborhood. We pay a premium for a false sense of security, and the criminals know that. I don't want this to ever happen to anyone ever again. Ever. Oh well, I tried.  

The second insult to injury is that I looked like this when it all went down:

prime target right there- at least I looked good

nothing really happened in October..

October felt pretty uneventful, at least compared to September.  

Shannon got married! I wore that dress I bought on my birthday!

We had a Mega Suite event for at the Texans
(they lost- they've been total garbage this season)

I made this with a homemade stencil

Carved some pumpkins- mine is the bottom left of the collage - those teeth took frover!

JMo hosted a really fun grown-up girls sleepover complete with pizza, movies, face masks and our newest obsession: Cards Against Humanity. We played all night long! The next morning, the rest of our friends (read: the boys) came over and we had a big brunch- it lasted all day because that game is so addicting and especially fun to play in a big group of friends! 

Halloween was awkwardly on a Thursday this year, so there were parties before and after. 

We went to a party after on Saturday November 2nd. It was a night I'll never forget.

bday month

My favorite holiday is Christmas. My second favorite holiday is my birthday. It is known. September is the best month- the beginning of football season, back to school time, the weather starts to cool down- the fact that it is my birth month and my favorite month are sheer coincidences. Here are the highlights:

 I love musicals. Who doesn't? Most guys. Especially Guy. The only musical he had any slight interest in seeing was The Book of Mormon for obvious reasons. It was in town for September, and tickets to the show are all I wanted for my birthday.  Being the Craigslist fiend that I am, I found a pair for less than face value in the first row of the mezzanine and it was everything I'd hoped and more. Guy even liked it enough to listen to the original cast recording on the way home (and the rest of the weekend)!

Another thing I love is the Denver Broncos.  Watching the games and following team news helps me feel connected to home, so I've become an even bigger fan since I've lived away from Colorado.  This has proven to be an exciting year, and the NFL season opener/home opener grudge match against last year's Super Bowl-winning Baltimore Ravens was a blow-out. As in PFM threw 7 touchdowns and tied an NFL record. Adrienne was in town so we got to watch the game together which was almost like watching it together at home.  They play San Diego in the play-offs this weekend and I'm having early onset BIM (Broncos-Induced Mania). If they win the Super Bowl, I'm already planning to fly home to Denver for the parade.

This year, the 22nd was on a Sunday. Naturally, I took a half-day on Friday to go shopping to buy myself some birthday gifts.  Saturday, I brought Guy back to the store to pick up something I had picked out for myself..this gorgeous pair of Frye boots. He's always wanted to buy me a pair of boots but I could never find any that I liked or that fit my "athletic" calves. They will last forever and always be the boots Guy gave me for my 27th birthday- thanks babe!

My day itself was wonderful! It started when I woke up to this: 

He's gotten the 'flowers and a card' thing down- this year he threw in a kombucha! How did I get so lucky??

We cooked a delicious breakfast and took the dogs to the dog park.  We went back to Anthropologie so I could buy a dress I picked out on Friday, and then we went to a baptism party for our friends Terrance and Kathleen's little girl, Abriella. Dinner reservations at Oxheart (a critically acclaimed chef's restaurant I'd been dying to try) were early, and since it was Sunday, we were home early.  The Broncos were on Monday night that week, so I got to extend my birthday an extra day and a win over the Raiders was a bonus gift!

On 9/28, Laura and I had a joint birthday party because that weekend was in between our respective birthdays (hers being the first weekend in October). The theme was 

"

Erin & Laura's Throwback College Party Birthdays Party (#GOBUFFS)

" 

so we got a keg, watched the CU game, played beer pong and flip cup and took gross shots.  Guy went to bed really early, but everyone had a good time.  We hadn't had a real party at our house in over 6 months so it was long overdue. 

Geoff brought us a fancy birthday cake- We got a keg- And did some gross shots

The birthday month ended in Hangover City, and I was the mayor- but what a great month it was to turn 27!

Labor Day in Chi Town!

I met one of Erika's bridesmaids, Beverly, for the first time at her rehearsal dinner.  We were chit chatting about the summer, and I was lamenting about the cost of traveling to attend so many weddings.  When I mentioned we were heading to Chicago for my cousin's wedding over Labor Day weekend, she said "I am getting married Labor Day weekend here in Colorado- stay at my apartment while you're there!"  I was more than happy to take her up on that offer so we could spend more time in a city we've never been to before (for free!) We coordinated our travel plans with my brothers so we could hang out with them while we were there and it was so worth it!  

Wednesday night: Arrived late, found the apartment and met up with my brothers.  Michael had to go home and go to bed, but we had some drinks with Joe.

Thursday we met up with Joseph and Michael and took the El train downtown to spend time being tourists.  We walked around Millennium Park and went to the top of the Hancock Tower.  For dinner, we had pizza in a breezy beer garden in Lincoln Park. Unfortunately the restaurant was directly next to the El train and it was rush hour, so the train was constantly interrupting our conversation.  Lucky for us, this place had Moscow Mules on the menu so we invented a new drinking game: everytime the train comes by, take a drink.  That game was very efficient in preparing us for the show at the Second City Comedy Club.  I am SO glad we made a point to go to that- the show was amazing! My face and stomach hurt from laughing for 2.5 hours straight. I have no doubt a number of those players will make it big someday.  They were at the same bar we went to after the show so we were able to tell them how much we loved the show.

Friday: My parents arrived. After a late brunch we made our way to the W Hotel to meet up with them. To kill some time before the rehearsal dinner, our crew walked over to Navy Pier and had some beers. The weather was gorgeous!  I know the winters there are brutal, but the summer was pretty spectacular.  We cleaned up and went to the rehearsal dinner. The surf and turf was delicious, and the banter between Joseph and Uncle Pat was very entertaining. For example, he had no idea (or had completely forgotten) that he is Joseph's Godfather.  He also kept saying "Praise the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."  Dad said he had been drinking champagne most of the day so that might explain it.  Once dinner was over, we all met up with Lisa and her fiance Scott at a bar down the street. It was fun reuniting with Lisa and meeting Scott for the first time- he is super nice! Guy needed to go home early- he took the keys and accidentally passed out with his phone in his pocket, so I was locked out of the apartment when I got back at 3:00 a.m. Luckily the stranger I buzzed let me in and Guy forgot to lock the apartment door behind him- that could've been REALLY bad!

Saturday: We met up with my old CU friend (and Thomas's ex-girlfriend) Lisa for brunch. She is a senior stylist for a company called Trunk Club that is a personal shopping service for professional men.  She showed us around her office which is a dream- there's a full bar and an amazing rooftop patio in the middle of the city.  I am so proud of how successful she has been in her fashion career! It was like no time had passed since we last saw each other and I hope I get to visit her again soon.  We had to cut our visit short so we could get ready for the wedding.  Uncle Pat got Lisa down the aisle with no problems. We ate, drank and danced.  As the night went on, Cousin Julie and I really hit the dance floor hard.  She is hilarious and actually has some killer moves!  I love my cousins Sarah and Scott- growing up we rarely saw each other and weren't that close but now they're my favorites.  One of the highlights for Guy was when one of Scott's cousins got really serious about the limbo and took out a groomsman.  The party continued back at the hotel until late and we were all struggling on Sunday.

Sunday Uncle Pat and Aunt Cathy hosted a brunch at their condo, complete with a mimosa bar.  This gave us a chance to catch up and talk more with our cousins before everyone left to head home. Our flight was not until 7 pm so we had some more time to be tourists and did one of the riverboat architectural tours. Since the wedding was Labor Day weekend, we had Monday off to get our lives in order.  I used to think the girls I knew in college who were from Chicago were exaggerating about what an amazing city it is, but they weren't.  It is definitely worth the hype and I can't wait to go back!  

Scott and Lisa have relocated to Austin- we are overdue for a visit!

the end of summer

I needed to take it easy after those two weekend trips and a week of vacation, so the rest of July wast mostly uneventful.  Guy's best friend Amar had a New Orleans trip planned, so we met him there 7/27.

 

August sucked. For the most part. It got better towards the end.

The weekend of August 24th, our buddy Erica rented a house on Lake Travis for her birthday weekend.  

14 of us went and it was a blast!  The memories are a little blurry (my top fell off once or twice) but I do remember having a great time!

The only photo taken all weekend

4th of July & Fidler Wedding

We flew back to Denver on the 3rd of July, and drove up to Vail with my parents to watch my brother Michael play in the lacrosse tournament there (a tradition of sorts), followed by a visit with one of Dad's old Vail buddies and lunch at the SonneAlp Country Club.  Michael's game was up the road in Edwards, where my old friend Megan Slattery lives, so she was able to stop by and say hello. We did a lap around Vail Village after lunch and headed back to Denver for a 4th of July BBQ and some fireworks.

One of my closest friends here in Houston, Laura, happens to also be from Colorado. This is one of the main reasons we are so close. She's a 3rd generation Boulderite who also went to CU for undergrad, and came to UT for her masters in geology. When she and her boyfriend got engaged, they asked if Guy and I would play music at their wedding ceremony while the guests were being seated, before the bagpiper played their processional. It was a really sweet way to feel included in their day, and forced Guy and me to practice our set. If you would like to view a recording of our set, you can here: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQMQc43GtXNx14BawbbBOqg

They wed at Planet Bluegrass in Lyons on the 5th of July. I had been to the Rockygrass bluegrass festival a few times which is held at the same venue, and it was cool to see it used for a wedding. 

I really enjoyed being in Colorado with all of my Texas friends!

Luke and Laura- photo-shopped onto the daytime soap character Luke and Laura's heads-
Their wedding was the most watched event in daytime tv history!

                                 This is the best photo of Guy ever taken..

San Juan Colorado Vacation

I think planning/going on vacations tops the list of my favorite activities. I love scoping out all of the flight and transportation options, exploring possible itineraries, buying equipment if necessary, and basically traveling/not working.  This summer vacation to Colorado was no different.  We flew to Durnago from Houston bright and early in the morning, but we had an 8 hour layover in Denver so my sweet parents picked us up, cooked us breakfast, and later brought us back to the airport for our afternoon flight.
We spent the first half of our vacation in Durango and the San Juan mountains, where we hiked Ice Lake in Silverton, explored Telluride and crossed Ophir pass.  On Wednesday we flew up to Denver for the 4th of July and the Fidler wedding, but I'll save those deets for a later post. Here are a bunch of pictures from the vacation part of that trip: