Cooler Weather

Friends and Family,

Houston has been graced with chilly weather on this All Hallows Eve! The high today is 65 and it has only just hit 62 degrees! Fall in Texas is my favorite time of year, easily. Sunshine, cool breeze, long-sleeve shirts, and soup! Such a yummy season.

This week has been so relaxing. This was my first week without midterms in about a month, so I have just been floating because nothing is baring weight on my shoulders! I find my feet inches off of the ground sometimes! It's refreshing. Scott is happy, too, because I have not been spending every minute of free time studying.

Scott and I are hosting a Halloween party at our place tomorrow night! We invited friends from our Bible study group and neighbors in the complex for a night of costumes, Halloween movies, and food! It is the first Halloween party I have ever hosted, so hopefully all goes well. Scott and I are dressing up as a Mac and a PC, like the commercial. It is truly fitting for us since I use a Mac and he uses a PC and we often have the "which one is better" debate. Plus, we had no money for costumes so dressing up in normal clothes will be perfect! I hope you all have seen these commercials, otherwise this costume probably makes no sense!

Work was really slow today, but it was nice to pick up a few extra bucks. The usual Taft Street Coffee faces came through today, despite the chilly weather. Soup and lattes were a popular buy and for good reason! I think I had three cups of Earl Grey tea throughout my shift to keep my innards warm!

Here is part of our week in pictures:

Just cleaning the house!

Our friends were having a "pumpkin party" last weekend and Jesse and Scott decided to see how far apart they could get and still catch a tossed pumpkin. Well, they found out when it busted!

Scott made a really yummy pumpkin pie cheese cake! It was de-lish!

Scott made us gallo pinto for dinner one night, topped with a fried egg, and a glass of orange juice! It was FANTASTIC!

Well, that is all to tell for now! We love you all.

Have a safe and candy-filled Halloween!

Sickness and health

To all of my faithful readers (i.e. my grandparents--I love you for reading this blog and keeping up with us!),

Sickness:

I have been sick this week with some sort of weird cold. Not the flu, thank goodness. I had a pretty bad headache for 5 days, a sore throat, and a little cough. I kept my headache under control by way of modern medicine (ibuprofen and Tylenol), but as soon as my brain assembled the troops for answering questions on my midterms this week, the headache would resurface. I came out of midterms just fine, though! Hurray! When not forcing myself to study, I was snuggled deep in the depths of our wonderfully broken-in navy blue leather couch (a donation from Mema and Papa--we love it!) with my head buried in a feather pillow and a bottle of ibuprofen close by...

Health:

Oh, what the healthy must do to care for the sick! Scott, bless his little soul, tried to take care of me despite our distance during the day. I would receive text messages on my cell phone in the middle of the day saying things like, "Have you taken more medicine?", "Why don't you go home and rest", and "Skip class so you can sleep". He cooked me dinner, cleaned the house, and watched movies with me all week. And shared a bed with me at his own risk... I will probably be returning all favors in the next week or so.

I am feeling great today, though! I asked my boss for a shorter shift at work today so I could go home and get more rest, to which he agreed. Thanks, boss. I went to Bed Bath and Beyond after work and bought WAY too many candles! I had this brilliant idea to make some cute Fall candles by gluing acorns in neat little designs around the candle holders, so naturally I bought $75.00 worth (oops) of votive candles, candle holders, and big candles. Not to worry, though, I bought all of it with our left over wedding gift cards and actually came out of the deal with $50 left! What little fancy will I indulge in with the remaining money.... time will tell! Once I have completed the project, I will post pictures. Some of you may be getting one of these as a gift sometime soon :-) I used some of them just around the house to add a little extra sparkle and shine. You should have seen me flitting about our little apartment like some sort of candle fairy, lighting as I went! Here are some pics:

Four candles above our entertainment center...

One on our dining room table...

And... let's count... 9 on the entertainment center!

I dotted the rest of the house with candles as well... They are just so elegant and serene :-)

Have a great weekend!

October weekend

This weekend brought us more of the beautiful Fall sun and cool breeze; Scott and I took every chance to bask in this gift as, come November, it will be too cold for us native Texans!

Friday night we went out and saw "Where the Wild Things Are", the new movie by Spike Jonez based on the children's book with the same title. We saw it with our friends Eric and Sarah after enjoying a HUGE pizza at Frank's Pizzeria, a tiny pizza place in downtown Houston. We walked over to the Angelika theater, which is known for playing independent and foreign artsy films, handed in our tickets and watched what Sarah and I thought was going to be a happy-go-lucky children's movie. Needless to say, it was not. It was every bit of sad, dark, and creepy. I will admit, though, that it was very artfully done. The cinematography, special effects, and costumes were fantastic! Eric and Scott really enjoyed it and I would be lying to say that I didn't like it, I was just expecting something a bit more light-hearted.

Saturday was so beautiful! Scott and I slept in, which for us is about 8:00 these days... went for a run, ate breakfast, and spent about 3 hours in the afternoon at a park very close to our house that is across the street from the Menil Collection (a very well known art collection-If you own the book "1,000 Places To See Before You Die", you will find it in there!) We rode our bikes to the park, set out a blanket, and Scott read while I studied for midterms. There was a beautiful oak tree there that had long, skinny, winding branches stemming off at every angle! Perfect for tree climbing, so that's just what we did! I haven't climbed a tree since shimmying up our little peach tree that used to be in the front yard at my parent's house. I am not near as brave as I used to be... I managed to climb up to the second branch and grasped the limb above me like a child refusing to surrender a toy--that branch was mine! We left the park in time to come home and make dinner. Scott made an awesome dinner of fried chicken and fried okra! I made some cheese and herb scones to top it off. It was VERY tasty! We invited our neighbor over for dessert and a movie.

Sunday, like Saturday, graced us with another sunny and breezy day! We walked to church (it's only a little over a mile from our house) and witnessed two baptisms at our church! It was so emotional for me and Scott. Seeing that at our church and realizing how important it is to them really touched me to the point of tears.

Well, that was our weekend in a nutshell. I have a midterm today at 1:00, so I had better hop to and study!! I feel ready for it, but I hope I am not underestimating the test... I am starting to feel sick, too, so please pray that it STAYS AWAY!!! No time for illness in grad. school!

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Studying at the park.

Reading his Wendell Berry book.

I climbed the tree! Note: 1) The second branch is NOT that high 2) I will not let go of that branch!

Our yummy dinner on Saturday night!

Office supplies make me giddy

Happy Fall to all!

I just can't get over how much I love this season! Sunny with a high of 75 everyday for the next week! Hallelujah! The sun is out, but there is this gentle, gentle, cool breeze that comes through and kisses your face and shoulders. Truly amazing.

I spent the first 8 hours of my day at work, which is always a good experience. Scott came to work and had lunch with me, which is also always a good experience. We shared a turkey panini and hot soup and he left with a Pumpkin Pie latte in hand (courtesy of me).

When I got off of work, I went straight to Office Max to buy a coupon filer and some 4x6 blank notecards. They have to be blank. I don't do lined! I can't tell you how much joy fills my heart to see a huge room FULL of office supplies! It absolutely makes me crazy! So many colors and papers and filers and notebooks..... oh, such a delight for my OCD eyes to see!! I wanted to purchase so much more than I did (like that package of multicolored post-its! Ah!), but I restrained myself. I put my blinders on (sort of...) and only picked up the two items on my list. Good for me.

While walking back to my car, I just wanted to bathe in the weather! Pull all of that glorious breeze around me and snuggle with it for a few minutes! And that's just what I did when I got home. I went inside, got my Real Simple magazine and my camera, sat by our pool in a white plastic chair, and read 60 pages! It was glorious. I have 2 midterms this week, but this weather deserves more attention than my tests!

Here are a few photos from this week:

Scott surprised me when I got home one day with the new Brandi Carlile CD!!! It is wonderful! I danced to it in my PJs this morning while getting ready for work. Fabulous music.

Scott and I have a small herb garden that is doing surprisingly well! (Well... some of it is anyway...) This is our parsley and it is just flourishing!! I guess I inherited at least SOME of my Mema's green thumb! Our oregano and basil are also doing quite well. We killed the sage and the lemon basil.... oops.

A picture I took of myself this afternoon while basking in the breeze!

Blessings to all and to all a good weekend!

She who snuggles with Fall,

Hannah

Caramel Apples and Adventures in Manhood

Good day to all! I saw that I have not posted pictures in a while, so here are a few highlights from this week:

It was Scott's birthday last Thursday and we celebrated with friends from our church group and neighbors on Saturday night at the park by our house. Good chili, frisbee, slacklining. (I took lots of neat pictures of that swing that says "LOVE")

I have decided to title this portion of the blog "Adventures in Manhood"-- Scott, being the handyman that he is, has decided to learn cars in an effort to avoid paying someone else to do something that he is capable of doing. This is fine for say, oil changes and air filter replacements. I must admit, however, that I was nervous when he said he was going to replace all of his blown-out glowplugs (as shown here). He succeeded! Why do I ever doubt...?

"Everyday celebrations"--I decided to make a delicious treat of caramel apples in celebration of Fall! I love Fall and I thought it deserved a good, sticky, welcome! (Scott's is on the left)

One CANNOT look graceful while consuming caramel apples (proof provided in the above images).

I have had midterms for the 2 weeks (with 2 more to go next week!), so life has been a little harry. But, we are finding ways to bring love and joy (and caramel!) into the air! I hope that each of you are taking advantage of this wonderful season that is Fall!

Blessings to all and to all a night.

Your Sweet Tooth Queen,

Hannah Key

Fridays.

Happy Friday to all!

This is the one day I don't have class, but also the one day I DO have work. I am working the "long-open" shift, which actually means I am working 8 hours today. I love my job, though! It is yet another way for me to be creative, making "latte art" in everyones drinks and making pretty food presentations on the plate. All while listening to a catchy playlist of Ben Folds, Rufus Wainwright, and Regina Spektor. Oh happy day!

It was Scott's 23rd birthday yesterday! I got up at 5:15 to make him a yummy breakfast of biscuits, gravy, and sausage. I can't take credit for making the biscuits or sausage from scratch, but I did make the gravy from scratch! I always saw making gravy as this unachievable task (even though it's only butter, flour, and milk.) Not sure why three ingredients and a whisk intimidated me before... but I conquered the gravy and it was delicious and the perfect consistency!

Scott had work, I had a client, skipped my night class, went to Whole Foods, and made Scott a New York Strip steak with mushroom and red wine sauce, parmesan smashed potatoes, and a vinegar/vegetable salad. Dessert was some Peanut Butter(scotch) Bars with vanilla ice cream. It was a really nice time with just the two of us. His big party is on Saturday night with our friends from small group.

Believe it or NOT! A COLD front has come through Houston today!!! It is just the perfect temperature outside with a promise of a high of 75 degrees tomorrow! Yahoo! Fall has finally blown its way into Houston.

Friday night plans are dinner, movies, and snuggling with my best friend :-) Love it.

Blessings.

Graduate school...

I couldn't believe it when I looked at my last blog post and realized it was almost 2 months ago!! I also noticed that my last blog post was BEFORE I started graduate school, which explains everything.

Graduate school has taken over! It's a lot like... exercising for me. I was hesitant to start, but I knew it was what I needed to do. So, I hopped on the treadmill and started walking for a while. Then, out of nowhere, someone reached from behind me and cranked up the speed to a jog. Before I knew it, the speed was adjusted to a full-on sprint and I couldn't seem to find the big, red button that says "STOP!!" (exclamations added for emphasis.) So I'm running and running and sweat is pouring down my face, the tread on my shoes is depleting, and I am exhausted. But, I know that the minute I try to step off of this treadmill of which I have no control over, my feet will leap right out from under me and I will land on the treadmill with my cheek to the track and a big headache.

Praise our good Lord, I have found the button that slows this treadmill down and I am attempting to manage my stress and time in a way that is bearable. I am pretty much either at school or doing something FOR school from 6am to 9pm and I take the occasional break to catch up on my favorite design/craft/DIY website, "Design Sponge", or read my Real Simple magazine, or hang out with my wonderful and incredibly patient husband. I have night classes three times a week, so Scott and I's schedules totally overlap giving us about 2 hours a day to see each other. Bummer. He is such a dear though. He cooks for me at least twice a week, keeps the house clean, takes the trash out, and keeps me sane, ha.

When I'm not in school or doing things for school I am spending time on my hobbies, all of them. Last weekend I sewed some new curtains for our guest bedroom and I baked some tasty plum and pear souffles. Today I cooked Scott and I a good lunch and ate with him in the park. I have learned even more so than ever to absolutely ABSORB every minute of peace and fun that I have and most of all, make every moment with Scott worthwhile. These moments are usually brief, but brevity adds up and fuels me for the next grad. school assignments.

I love you all.

Hopefully it won't be 2 months before my next post!

Blessings.