Weekending {Two Boys, Pumpkins,& A Starbucks Virgin} + A Giveaway!

Can we just talk about these two boys?

Holy moly, are they not just the cutest cousins you ever did see? I'm certain they are.

Moving on...

We had another relaxing weekend around these parts, which was perfect by me being that I was away for work last weekend and I'm gone again this week and the week after. I need some time with my boys.

Which is why dinner out Friday night was in order. I love nothing more than heading out to dinner with my guys, having a glass of wine and catching up on our week. While we were waiting, a couple pics were necessary. 

As if Mexican food, including queso & fajitas, wasn't enough, we had to swing by the store and grab a couple of different ice cream flavors to try. Let me just tell you, they were ALL good.

It's obviously pumpkin patch season, but instead of heading to one of the big, fancy pants patches that are full of activities, fried foods and really expensive pumpkins, we decided to make it quick and head to what used to be a not-too-well-known farm full of really inexpensive pumpkins. Plus they have a playset and you would think we were at Disneyland as much fun as C had...not only that but Morgan and Cole joined us, so that helped make it even more fun. Cruz got to play the older cousin. He doesn't get to do that often. We, of course, took the opportunity for some pics.

The Husker game was a later one, so at the last minute we invited some friends over to our house.  Boys in the basement and gals with the kiddos, catching up on our gossip like all gals do. It ended up being a late night (I'm such a loser, I just can't hang anymore), but a fun impromptu one.

Since it was a later night, it meant a late morning on Sunday and Cruz & I missed the Zoo Run. We did it last year {here} and had a great time, so I'm pretty bummed we didn't get up and go. Speaking of, we haven't been to the zoo since it was ranked #1 zoo in the world by Trip Advisor. You guys, that is legit.

So instead of a five mile run? We hit up Target and Starbucks. Same diff, right? And not only that but this little man had his first Starbucks - well, besides the cake pops - and was a big fan. How cute are those little cups? And they make it "kid temp" so they can drink it right away. Pretty impressive.

After spending way more money in Target than necessary, on junk, all junk, we headed home to decorate our pumpkins. All Cruz wanted was to paint them green, so he got his wish and after about 3 1/2 minutes, he was done, so I was left to paint up the rest.

As you can tell, he wasn't impressed that I made him carry the pumpkins. God forbid.

So that's it...our weekend in a nutshell. And it was a great one.

Speaking of great? I'm partnering with these lovelies and we have a pretty kick ass giveaway going on...$205 in Paypal cash to be exact! And it's like less than three months from Christmas, don't tell me you couldn't use this cash...or if you don't need it, I would be happy to take it off your hands. =)

Just click the rafflecopter link below, it's that simple!

morgan | megan | heather | karissa
terin | tawnya | mar | maegen
lauren | katie | kate | vanessa
amy | karli | libby | caroline

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! And do me a favor, have a great week, would ya??

Linking up with B

Weekending In Austin {Austin Bachelorette Party}

This past weekend was spent in Austin for my girl Angie's bachelorette party...and it was a phenomenal one.

If you follow me on Instagram, you have seen some of these pics already, but now you just get more detail about what we did during our weekend of debauchery. Ok, not even close, but it was still a great one.

First things first, the bride-to-be picked me up at the airport and we were the first to arrive at our downtown penthouse apartment for the weekend - it was really the best way to stay in the city and perfect for our group of seven.  Not only that, but it was very contemporary and the decor was gorgeous. I highly recommend you checking out VRBO if you are going on a trip with a large group and want the convenience of being all together in the same space.

Afterwards, we headed to Whole Foods to pick up some necessities - vino, champagne, chips & guac, bottled water. To tell you this was the most amazing Whole Foods ever, wouldn't be doing it justice. It's the flagship store and had everything you could imagine. A couple bars, a coffee shop, made-to-order everything. Plus, they had this Mamamango champs. Pretty fitting, right?

After the rest of the girls arrived from Houston & Odessa, we got dolled up (no pics of us, bad blogger alert) and headed to dinner at Uchi, which was phenomenal. Described as a contemporary Japanese dining and sushi restaurant which I hear is one of the hottest in town. Kay was a pro orderer so we let her take over while we sampled many plates of delicious food and washed it down with bottle after bottle of wine. I have to say I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried many new foods and was surprised that I enjoyed it all.

There was a ton of girl talk, getting to know each other, more wine and before we knew it we had been there for about three hours before heading back to our place, opening more wine and continuing the conversation on the comfort of the couch.

The next morning some of the gals went for a run, some of us went for a Starbucks run and then we all piled into a tour bus chock full of champagne to head out to Texas Wine Country - who knew there was such a thing? I sure didn't!

We set up our tour with Discover Texas Wine Tours and let me tell you they were fab! Our driver Wayland was seriously the best - he was knowledgeable about the area as well as the one olive oil company and two wineries we visited.

Our first stop was the Texas Hill Country Olive Company...while this isn't a winery, the stop was a great one as they featured legit olive oil and vinegars for us to sample with endless bread, sangria and wine samples from other local wineries.  I had to bring a couple bottles home and opted for the Garlic Olive Oil and the Balsamic Vinegar, but I was close to picking up the Lemon Olive Oil and Peach Vinegar which we all decided would be a delicious salad dressing.

Then we headed to Hawk's Shadow Winery, which may have been my favorite. As you can see below, we found ourselves in a rainy day which actually turned out to be very cold, but still opted to sit outside for our tasting. Wayland was the best as he held an umbrella to help stop some of the rain drips on our backs and the owner Tom kept finding jackets and rain slickers for us to keep covered. The wine was phenom, the lunch we enjoyed there (which was part of the wine tour package) was delish and the family who owned this place were just the best. They were so sweet and accommodating, even allowing us to use their gorgeous log cabin for real restrooms.

We then traveled over to Duchman Family Winery which is where Angie will be getting married in five short weeks. And let me tell you it was just beautiful - very Tuscany-like and I can't wait to watch her walk down the aisle there.

After we got back to Austin, we all had a nice afternoon buzz and decided to hit up some shops nearby, pick up dinner from Whole Foods and then swung by Amy's Ice Creams (I wouldn't recommend the Bacon Jalapeno, but I do recommend trying it just to say you did) for an little treat because we had decided we were going to stay in for the night.

Say what? Stay in - meaning not go out - on a bachelorette party weekend?

Yep. That is just what we did and it was perfect.

After chowing down, opening some wine and putting on our fat pants - we sat around chatting, playing a bad ass round of Heads Up (if you haven't downloaded this app, you need to ASAP) and then more talking, wine/champagne drinking to round out the night. And it was absolutely perfect.

On Sunday, we all got packed up, two of the gals headed home and the rest of us hit up Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill for brunch and mimosas This place was just the cutest and the brunch (tables and tables of delicious food) was perfect to soak up some of the champagne hangover. I would absolutely recommend this place and I've heard their dinner is just as good.

I think the best way to describe our weekend is the ultimate "In Your 30s" Bachelorette Party. There was no pressure to get dolled up in our shortest, tightest dresses and prance around the bars and while my only regret (albeit a small one) is that I didn't get to see more of the city (6th Street, Rainey, Warehouse District), I really wouldn't have changed anything.

One thing I can say, Angie has found some amazing gals to be in her life and I'm so happy to see that she has this group of friends in Houston - her home away from home. I feel fortunate to have had the chance to meet them and look forward to seeing them all again in a few short weeks.

Now that is what I call a very grown up girl's weekend.

B Loved Boston

Weekending

Another amazing weekend in the books where we had nothing planned. I think these are becoming my favorite ones.

Not only that but a great weekend is launching me into yet another short work week, as I'm heading to Austin this weekend to celebrate my bestie's bachelorette party. Any time I get to jump on a plane and check out a new city, I get a bit giddy.

More about that later...let's talk weekend.

My weekend started a bit early on Thursday night with an early birthday dinner with my sister. As much fun as we have together, it still boggles my mind that it takes some kind of higher power to get us together...and we live in the SAME CITY. Regardless, we had a great time - pedicures (I needed one something fierce), Blue for sushi and then we hopped over to Red Lounge for some cocktails. It was much needed and I love that girl.

Saturday was the real highlight of the weekend - Nick had a golf tournament and, of course, a day full of football watching so Cruz and I decided to shoot downtown. We definitely don't go to downtown Omaha as much as I would like and I've been wanting to get down there for the Farmer's Market there vs. our regular one out at Aksarben on Sundays.

And there is just something about getting out & about in your own city to areas you don't frequent often that makes you fall in love with the city you call home. 

We couldn't have asked for a better day - absolutely gorgeous - so not only did we hit up the Farmer's Market, but we also strolled around the Old Market, stopped in the Passageway for some pics, had a soup/sandwich lunch at Wheatfield's and then hit up Hollywood Candy.

I had been talking to Cruz about the Pedestrian Bridge for quite some time and since we were so close, we headed over to walk over the water and take the signature pics on the bridge where you have one foot in Nebraska and one in Iowa. =) He was in awe and we stared at the river and every bit of muck and yuck floating down it for far longer than I would've preferred, but for some reason the kid was terribly interested in it.

The rest of our weekend was spent organizing the playroom & storage, a little DIY paint job on a table of Cruz's, eating (as per usual) and catching one of my nephew Kayden's football games.

A little work, a lot of relaxing, just how we like it.

Have an amazing week!

Linking up with B with this morning...