Hail all Hail TCU... Homecoming

Last weekend was my second TCU homecoming as an alumna. We played Air Force, but I'll be honest and say I went to see old friends, drink beer, and eat! We spent the afternoon at Rahr Brewery with MC and Phil, listened to music, and drank. Always a good time to be had at Rahr. Unfortunately for this update, I brought my camera all the way to the great city of Fort Worth minus the battery... so iphone pics had to suffice!

It rained ALL day! When I wasn't under a roof, I looked like this:

But then we made it to the Frog Five Tailgate which is for alums who graduated in the last five years. This is quite possibly the best tailgate of the year considering there is free food, beer, and t-shirts! I miss my college days of having more free t-shirts than I know what to do with, so the last amenity was greatly appreciated! So excited was I to receive this free shirt that I failed to notice there was a large mud puddle right in front of the t-shirt table... so now not only was my hair frizz-tastic, my clothes wet, but my feet covered in mud. It was then that I promptly walked (and squished) over to the beer table.

The highlight though was seeing some long-lost friends, 

and some friends we see all the time :)

All in all homecoming was great fun and it was amazing to see so many people I hadn't seen in years! Many more fun times were had that day but due to the above mentioned downpours and my camera faux pas they weren't captured on film! Oh yea, and TCU won against Air Force woo!



Stay tuned because tonight we are celebrating Halloween... The Beer Girl and Beer Keg will roam the streets of Big D once again!!




Ciao!
Claire

Dum da dum dum!

To be perfectly honest, my workout routine has fallen totally flat. I'm beyond bored with the classes at my gym and the thought of running on a treadmill... well I'd rather fall down an elevator shaft. So, today I signed up for THIS. I'm really nervous, excited, nervous... I thought to myself, what better way to NOT gain 10 pounds (and maybe lose some inches for the dress instead!!) over the holidays than to get my behind kicked three (possibly four) times a week by a professional by the name of "the gladiator"??  It was also rated DFW's best boot camp in D Magazine.

I have dreams that after camp I'll look like this:

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Buts lets not get ahead of ourselves, first I'd have to be tan and Brazilian instead of well, pale and Irish. Anywho, I'm very excited about starting this camp! Especially because I get to do it with my fellow "I want to eat turkey and pie and not gain weight damnit!" pal Kristen. So I'm off to buy my 8-10 lb dumbbells, workout mat, and new tennis shoes!

Ciao!

Claire

Linens, Crystal, China Oh My!

The Save the Dates are about to go out. They are printed, addressed, and stamped. They also have our wedding website on them which in turn has our gift registry on it AND being the A.R. person that I am, that means our registry has to actually have have stuff on it... So needless to say, O and I spent today, scanner in hand wandering around Macy's and BB&B registering for our fictional 2 bedroom 2 bath house that we may or may not have post nuptials. 

A few months ago, we registered at Crate and Barrel at one of their Wedding party events which I highly recommend as your first registering experience. You have to get up fairly early on a Sunday, (like 10am, but you know you'd be getting up to get ready for brunch anyway!) but there are mimosas, scones, and a personal shopper involved so in my opinion, totally worth the couple less hours of shut eye! Just a word to the wise though, save the mimosas until after you're done registering because you don't need bubbly clouding your judgment of which stemware to choose!  

So, without further ado I will share some lessons learned today while gift registering. 

Do:

• Print out and take with you Real Simple's Wedding registry checklist. Its is well organized, to the point, and the best one I've seen so far. Every store you register at will give you a copy of their "recommended registry items" and I found every one to be excessive and have many things that O and I will NEVER use. 
• Wear appropriate footwear- take it from the girl who hobbled out of BB&B today with blistered feet and a fiance complaining of sore knees 
• Give your fiance a kiss and tell him/her thank you for being there and being supportive of you while you're facing the all important decision of whether to scan the cream or ivory bath mat
• Take ample food and water breaks. You'll be surprised how many calories all this decision making burns.
• Have a cold beer or glass of sauv blanc waiting for you when you get home.

Don't: 

• Let pushy sales people try to tell you what you HAVE to have. If you and your fiance will never use crystal candlesticks or the all-in-one toast and egg breakfast maker then don't feel pressured to register for it! 
• Have plans with anyone  or anything except your couch after your finished. Your head will be spinning with spatulas, thread counts, and china patterns and a little down time will be necessary.
•  Get frustrated or overwhelmed when you can't make a decision right away. That's the beauty of online registries! Scan both, decided later.
• Forget to ask about the store's return policies. Some will give you store credit and some will even give you cash but none of them will tell you unless you ask!

So there ya have it. Just a few lil' tips I learned today. To all the Brides out there, do you have any do's and don'ts to minimize wedding registry stress??

Ciao!

Claire

Tea Time!

Last fall, while perusing the Dallas Arboretum website and their selection of wedding venues (Was I engaged and this point? No, but we won't talk about that.) I discovered that they have a Harvest Tea every year October through November. I've never been to a seated tea and thought to myself "what better way to be a true Dallasite (besides valeting my car and shopping at Northpark) than to have tea and crumpets in the afternoon?" I never made it last year but this year, my favorite newly returned Dallas resident and I decided to check it out.

Our adorable tea set with violets on the cups!

My lovely afternoon tea company.

Our tea sandwiches were served with peach cinnamon spice tea. The clear front runner (as far as tea goes) in my humble opinion.

Our desert plate with pumpkin tarts, amaretto brownies, pecan bars and the delicious orange currant scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream! SO buttery, light, and flaky. All I can say is YUM.

We then ventured out onto the Arboretum grounds to visit the fall festivities.

If one of these darlings had fit in my purse I would have for sure snatched it up for my fall table-scape.

There were fall-tastic pumpkin patches like this all over. I could make a crude joke about the gourd resting between the two large pumpkins on the right-BUT I won't, because I'm a lady... I drink tea.

To the pumpkin house we go!

Not all is classy at the Dallas Arboretum. There are still signs that say no swimming if you got the runs folks!

 Overall, I highly recommend the Arboretum during the fall. We thoroughly enjoyed our tea and wandering around the grounds. If you don't want to shell out for the tea, consider visiting on a beautiful fall day! It's the perfect opportunity to get into the Autumn spirit and enjoy nature while you're at it. I intend to return very soon, or at least before the weather turns frigid.  I hope you find yourself there soon!

Ciao!

Claire

Purple Nurple

You can ask any of the fine ladies (and man) I work with and they will tell you that for the past six months I've been on a quest to find the quintessential purple pumps for my lovely bridesmaids. I've searched and examined every purple shoe on zappos, piperlime, through all of the interwebs and beyond. If they sell shoes, I've scoured their website for reasonably priced, non-tacky, satin purple shoes (with no rhinestones please and thankyou!). Sounds easy right? WRONG! It has taken me months but I've finally found The Shoe.

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 I think these lovelies will beautifully compliment their graphite gray jcrew taryn dresses come April! I must admit I almost gave up on my search mid September and almost had my maids purchase some nice but not nearly as fabulous purple peep-toe flats. Thank goodness for my unwavering stubbornness and perseverance! AND thank you to my ever patient colleagues who endured countless hours of purple shoe scrutiny! 

Ciao!
Claire