Friday afternoon I drove down to Rice to attend a board dinner with BJ at Trevisio. Â Before that, I celebrated the end of the work week with some candy.
Spinach and cheese ravioli. We just heated pre-made ones up and added sauce. Not quite in full cooking mode yet, but trying to get warmed up.
“I can’t believe it’s been a year since I’ve had a beignet!!!” ~ BJ at Crescent City Beignets
Things are starting to settle down at school. Faces become familar, routines established, relationships forged. It’s a huge sigh of relief.
I haven’t had much time to spend on my art, but it’s nice when I can incorporate my personal projects into class demonstrations. For now all I have are doodles and “figuring it out” work.
My doodles. I had my kids create ink grounds using a straw and then asked them to created drawings from the marks.
Drawing on fabric & hand sewn bows w/ recycled cloth.
Melissa (Hi, MOJO!) sent me a cool link. Wanna participate? I think I’ll give it a shot.
Lately, I’ve been feeling under the weather. In some classes, I have 8 kids out sick and my trash bin is full of kleenexes. Man o man, I think it’s only going to get worse before it gets better. Some things that have made me feel better: lots of ginger ale, naps, having the xx on repeat at work, and relaxing in front of the tv with BJ.
My knit dress is from my mom. Yep, she still picks out my clothes…
I think BJ is glaring at Padma.
We made crepes for breakfast. Nothing beats homemade whip cream. And it’s so simple to whip up! har har.
Uh oh. Look at those eyes.
Okay, you win, Igby.
 
On the drive back from the ceremony.
Getting breakfast thanks to Yelp. Mmmmm.
What a wonderful weekend! I’m so sad that it’s gone. Getting back to work and routines have been difficult after visiting friends, reconnecting with those who drifted away, and making new connections. For two whole days, we were surrounded by an overwhelming amount of joy and love, especially a common love for C & T. I was getting so emotional throughout the wedding day. Whew. It reminded me of the feeling of community at Notre Dame and how BJ and I long for it now. On the bright side, it makes me super excited for our wedding.
collaged watercolor paper & markers
Oi, Mondays are hard. We have Open House tomorrow until 9pm, so I think overall i’ts going to be a very busy week. BUT on Saturday, BJ and I will head to Louisville, Kentucky for a wedding — one of many to come this year. I’m also excited to see Jenni. Maybe next time we can make it a RISD MAT reunion!
I showed this today for my kiddos. Enjoy! “Strawberry Swing” by Coldplay.
I survived another first week of school year! On Saturday, I took a technology certification test. Ugh. I’ll try not to sound so negative, but they really need to break down the test into smaller areas of concentration. Networking is my enemy!
Ibgy is a flirt.
Tonight, my siblings and our cousin Long went to Houston Restaurant Week at Quattro in the Four Season Hotel. It’s basically going to be our only fine dining meal of the year and a portion goes to charity. They even gave us a separate dining room. Fancy, eh?
BJ’s Duo of Duck with cannelloni, apple & fennel slaw, and bitter sardinian honey.
My oven-roasted sea bass with little neck clams, fregula, grape tomatoes, and basil-saffron broth.
Our dessert: limoncello panna cotta!
We have several nice cookbooks, bought tons of magazines that boast about the 50 best recipes or 101 grilling tips, and love watching the Food Network and Top Chef. But by the end of the day, we’re too exhausted to prepare dinner. I think once things settle down a bit, we’ll give it another go. Stay tuned…
front
book corner
bottle collection
Saturday I cleaned 7 screens and was so relieved that all the screen filler came off despite being on there for at least 4 months. It only took 5-10 minutes for each one, which is much better than 45 minutes! Using a larger brush and high water pressure made all the difference. Afterwards, we headed down to Rice to work. I love the view outside his office window. Beats my windowless room and florescent lights!
BJ took my sister, Tam, and I on a tour of the campus via the golf cart. He was going so fast we couldn’t help but grin wildly like fools as we whizzed by all the students. You know when that happens? It’s kind of like a little kid on swings, only we rarely ever experience that kind of thrill now. I was thinking “Stop smiling so widely. People are walking around in the heat and you don’t want them to think you’re rubbing it in their face.” Anyways, most of the ride also consist of me begging BJ to obey the stop signs, not run over people on the side walks, not ride through a cricket game, or run the the stadium ramp.
Since Tam is leaving for school soon. We took her out to Oporto Cafe for some tapas.
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The beef skewers were so tender and flavorful.
Super refreshing caipirinhas- I think we’ll have to serve these at the reception.
For dinner, we met up at Aka and had some sushi with Trang, Ky, Andrew, and Tu-Anh. So all in all, a delicious Saturday.
 
As awesome as it would be if these were pictures of black confetti, they’re actually birds outside of the grocery store. The last few times we’ve been here the birds were squawking and flying like they’re on drugs. They come really fast in waves. It’s puzzling and kind of creepy.