on to christmas

It's hard to write a post about Thanksgiving when I'm sitting on my couch, staring at our Christmas tree. The colorful lights are making our floors look like a mix of pinky, and blue-y, and green-y. The party lights from the projection tree topper (seriously, best purchase ever. All the Christmas raves are happening here because of this baby.) are making this apartment HOPPIN'. 

Since I just can't find the Thanksgiving words with my Christmas surroundings, and because a picture is worth a thousand words I will now give you a five thousand word post merely by posting five pictures from my weekend of thanks and giving. 

Thanksgiving Eve consisted of Freddie cooking and me sitting and watching while singing with Lupe.

Ironically, this is what every evening looks like at our house. 

Our sweet friends (and fan-freaking-tastic wedding photographers) invited us to spend Thanksgiving with their family here in Texas. I never realized how much a) living this far away from family sucked during the holidays and b) how much having sweet friends rocked. Also guacamole was served along with all the regular Thanksgiving foods so basically best first Texas Thanksgiving ever.

I say all of this unnecessarily to preface this picture of Freddie's hiney way up in the air helping with the tree train. What a booty-ful picture.

I had my first Black Friday shopping experience. Or I guess you could say my first Black Friday ride-along shopping experience. I don't know what all your people are talking about when you speak of the BF craziness.

Here's how it went down. Got in line at 4:30. Got inside Target at 6. Walked to the back of the store. By the time we got to the back, our friend Randy was already paying for his Apple Watch. Walked back outside at 6:11. Got a trophy for calmest Black Friday shopping. 

We have a dog named Lupe. He likes to lick a lot. Especially when Thanksgiving selfies are involved.

Also, is Lupe a girl's name? Did we fail as doggy parents? Because so many people here call him a girl. Can we just agree Lupe is a gender neutral name?

I tend to view Thanksgiving as an obstacle on the road to Christmas. SO GUESS WHAT? You best believe this beautiful, youthful, goddess of a Christmas tree came home with us after Thursday was over.

It's tiny which is perfect for our tiny apartment. It's also cute and that helps with the cuteness factor of our apartment, as well.

And now I think I'll get that Christmas music turnt up and get this Monday moving along.
How was your Thanksgiving? 

thnx for spnx

As most of you know, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. For those who did not know that, might I suggest a new calendar for Christmas this year?

Every year around Thanksgiving I have a hard time deciding on a post. I am passenger #1 on the struggle bus here, folks. Do I post something sweet and meaningful that touches the hearts of the millions few that read this blog? Or do I come up with something short and somewhat slightly and/or entirely hilarious? 

I am going with Option C here today. We all know that we all are thankful for family. And friends. And food. And hashtags so that we can hashtag blessed our blessings. But today I want to dig a little bit deeper into exactly what my blessings are and why I am grateful for said blessings.

Spanx

I love food, and I love looking like I don't have a food baby (when I really do) when wearing tighter clothing. #illtakethatsecondpieceofcheesecake

People who give good pedicures.

I've been on this kick lately of Hey! I'll save money by giving myself pedicures! HAHAHA. I tried so hard to convince myself it was almost as good, but trust me: there is an art to scrubbing off dead skin, and I am nowhere near mastering that art.

Tweezers

Because chest hair looks good on no one. Especially on those who have no cleavage to cover up said little chest hairs (me) (tmi, but not tmi). 

Dog bones

Sometimes I just don't want Mr. Needy Pants Lupe all up in my bid-ness. Bribery works, people. Especially with dogs. This is where I will insert hashtag no guilt.

Dry cleaners

Making Freddie's work shirts look amazing and profesh since 2013. Thank you from the very, VERY bottom of my iron sucking/hating heart. 

Taste buds

Without taste buds, how would I ever know how to-die-for-delicious Talenti's gelato is? That would be such a sad life. 

Pause. Takes a break to eat another spoonful of gelato. Unpause. 

Mothers

Freddie and I left some clothes at home from our most recent trip. When we opened the box of clothes my mother had returned to us via the mail, we also discovered $20. I am so excited to start accidentally leaving more clothes in Georgia. Wink. 

Knees down while doing push-ups

Without this modification, I would never feel strong. Thank you, exercise modifications, for making me feel stronger than I really am. 

Sweet potatoes (a.k.a. Freddie's mom and dad)

You're probably wondering what Freddie's parents have anything to do with sweet potatoes, but if it wasn't for the perfect mixture of the two of them, Freddie wouldn't have turned out the way he is now. This means he would have never thought to put the exact spices together to make his DELICIOUS roasted sweet potatoes that I want to eat every day for the rest of my life. 

Blankets/socks/Freddie's legs/space between couch cushions in which I can stick my cold feet

Because how else am I supposed to get my cold feet to get any level of warmness? 

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

May your Thanksgiving table be almost as full as your heart. 

why adulthood sucks and friendship rocks

Five Reasons One Of Your Best Friends Getting Married Is Actually The Best Thing In The World

The entire reason for our big ol' East Coast vacay was for one of my best friend's weddings. I don't think I've ever gotten so little sleep all while having so much fun. Or maybe I was delirious? Regardless, too much fun was had. Friends, keep getting married. Please! Because some people I kind of know are becoming experts in wedding wine drinking and reception dancing.  

one // You finally get to be around your best and oldest friends.

Eight and a half years works wonders on our complexions. 

I need like fifty stars and highlights and giant arrows around this point. There are so many reasons adulthood is the worst: Bills. Work. Responsibility. Slow Metabolism. But one thing that honestly never crossed my mind was growing up and not living near all of my friends. Now why this thought never occurred to me is ridiculous and proves how dumb innocent I was (am), but adulthood sucks! It blows! The worst! We are all spread out all over the country, and I hate it. I got to spend Thursday-Sunday with the best looking knees on the best looking bees of friends, and it just made me realize how hashtag effing blessed I am to have had these people in my life for ages and ages and ages and will continue to have in my life for ages and ages and ages. There are like so totes mcgotes my forever hashtag women crush wednesdays.

two // You get to learn how to use and apply makeup. Ten years late. 

Listen up here. I'm not trying to brag, but I kind of am totally trying to brag. My friend Hannah and I put on our granny big girl panties, found a Here's How To Make Your Makeup Amazing In Pictures pin, and we followed those instructions to a giant, caps lock T. The makeup looked so hair flip emoji girl good. ---->insert that emoji right here. 

See? Told you we looked hawt. 

three // Your husbands/fiancés get to be around each other and try to be half as bee's knees-y as y'all are. 

It's been so weird for me that Freddie doesn't know some of my best friends well since we all live five hundred thousand too many miles away from each other. Getting everyone together and getting to see  everyone laugh and giggle and take five hundred thousand selfie stick pictures makes my heart so happy. 

four // You get to dance together! For the first time since you were 18! And you don't have to wear pointe shoes! And wine is involved this time!

Don't really think any further explanation is needed. No pointe shoes + three glasses of wine = better dancing. Little John there looking smooth on the floor ripped his pants doing a split so...to sum up: we all had a horrible time on the dance floor, obviously. 

five // You get to go from being fourteen years old and talking about getting married and being in love to being in your twenties and seeing your friends get married and be in love. 

All the congratulations and all my love to the newlyweds! Brittany and Joey, let's party again on your anniversary next November. Deal.

Linking up with Karli and Amanda!

a love triangle

Charleston.

Oh, you beautiful, magical land of the Chucks. 

I've been wanting to write a post like this for awhile. You know, one of those my heart is torn/I am emotional/hear me roar kind of posts. 

You see, I love Houston. I really, really do. Moving is a huge change, but I feel like for what it was (a huge, ginormous, big, cross-country move) that we have adjusted fairly painlessly. Hashtag blessed.

Lately I've been missing the CUH-RAP out of Charleston. The crap. Like when people say they miss something so much it hurts --->that, in the least dramatic way possible, is how I have felt lately. Maybe the newness of the big move and a new city has worn off some, but whatever it is I was so bleep word excited to go visit Charleston last week!

So bleeping bleep excited. 

I told Freddie that this quick Chawlston visit would either a) give me closure or b) make me even more sad. Don't worry, it didn't do either. It made me go with option c) all of the above. 

We had just about 48 hours to fit in all of our favs. PSA: it is impossible to fit in all your Charleston favs into a 48 hour period. P.S. on the PSA: we did the best we could. 

We shopped on King. 

Stopped for cookies. 

Got happy at some happy hours. 

Strolled all up and the down beach.

Visited with the best students and best co-workers. And blinked during picture time...

..and ate enough food to last our bodies for at least three more weeks. 

So...is it possible to love two things at once? Because I truly, really do love living in Houston. I tell you I do, I do! I love the opportunities that are coming up for Pilates. I love that Freddie is in heaven at his new job. I love that we have a view of gorgeous downtown from our balcony. I love that we can eat the best, freshest tortillas ever. I love that we could explore every day for the rest of our lives, and still have new things to do here. I love it all (as obvious by the number of times I said the word love here...).

But, but, but...my love for Charleston, it runs real deep. It feels like home. I miss the familiarity. The people. The places. The life we had there. I miss trivia nights, and champagne cocktails at Rarebit. I miss driving two miles for Sunday Funday Beach day, and I miss the friendships and the kiddos I taught. I miss laughing on King St. while eating Jeni's (always eating Jeni's...), and dancing on Queen St. after performances.

But I love our life here in Houston.
WHAT EVEN, SELF?
My heart is split in two, I tell ya.

Change is good and I do believe we are where we are supposed to be.

...but I also believe that it's okay to admit that change is hard, and that you're kind of in love with two places. :)

Charleston, never change. I'll be back soon for that champagne cocktail.

Are you nosy and wanting to know what we ate while back home in Charleston? Because I'm always nosy and wanting to know where people ate when they are in foody cities. 

Shrimp tacos and plantains at Fuel.

Cookies from King St. Cookies.

Cloister cocktails at Prohibition.

Champagne cocktails and catfish po-boys at Rarebit.

Burgers and truffle mac n' cheese are Coleman Public House.

Anything at Southernly.

Ice cream at Jeni's.

Over and out.

asheville done right

Well, well, well. Hello there! Long time no...type? I mean, I guess I could say long time no see because I literally have never seen (seen in person) most of you, but whatevs. 

I am back from the East Coast (best coast?) land and lemme tell ya something...

You know when people come back from vacation so you ask them how their vacation was, and they go, Ohh darling, it was marvelous, but I feel like I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.  Giggle giggle and all that. Yeah, those people are just joking, but me. Me right now. I am SERIOUS about this. I need a vacation to recover from our vacation.

Need. I'm the only one who has ever been serious about that statement. Remember that. 

Friend reunions plus family reunions plus one of my oldest and best friends getting married all equal no sleep and lots of wine. And chocolate. And talking. I'm pretty sure I sounded like a puberty aged male while trying to teach class yesterday morning. But squealing and giggling and screaming is just so necessary when reunited with old friends. 

So while I'm sipping on my soda water (did you know that's pretty much all I drink? Fun Fact Sidebar: Edition I) (other than wine, of course) and watching Lupe unsuccessfully try to stay awake, I'm going to successfully stay awake and start throwing it back to...our weekend in Asheville. 

hashtag no filter. hashtag i know, right?

Our friends from Charleston had planned on taking a fun mountain getaway and jokingly said Freddie and I should join them. Well folks, the funny thing about flying every eight weeks for Pilates training is that your airline points add up fairly quickly. We put those points to good use and hopped on a plane to North Carolina. Ya know, down south to the land of the pines so we could see our babies friends that night. - Emily and Old Crowe Medicine/Darius Rucker. 

The cabin we stayed at was way, way, way high on a mountain. Think roller coaster going up before a big drop...that was us driving up to the cabin. The big drop would have been us falling off the tiny, straight-up-into-the-air roads and tumbling down the mountain. The view was well worth the near-death experience, as seen in the picture above ^^.

Since we had all planned on drinking in Asheville we decided that we should stay out all day and not return to our cabin until late that night when plenty of water had been consumed. Cue a Saturday full of Asheville fun and wine and stuff. The boys and girls separated for many reasons, but mostly because we females don't enjoy stopping by four breweries in one day, but we do enjoy stumbling upon random wine tastings and chocolate shops. 

So enjoy my Oh, You Only Have 14 Hours in Asheville And Only Want To Go To One Brewery? No Prob. Guide to Asheville. 

Start at Wicked Week Brewery. Just do it. Even if you don't like beer (me), you probably like food (me) and this place is pretty delicious. 

If you are choosing the brewery lane on the game board then stop reading here. If you are choosing the non-brewery lane on the game board then keep on pluggin' on. 

Start roaming the streets of Asheville and go into any and all stores. The more you go in, the more likely you are to stumble upon a random, free wine tasting. 

Both Codorniu Cava wines we tasted were on different menus throughout the weekend. Which meant I ordered them and felt like a total bad you know what knowing the name and origin of said wine. 

You should probably stop in both Mast General Store and The Chocolate Fetish. Because toys + chocolate = photo ops, and what kind of traveling bloggers would we be if we didn't stop in all the hot photo ops places? 

Also stop at anywhere Hotline Bling is written. Because...you used to call me on my cell phone and stuff. 

After five or six or twenty more shop stops you might realize that you have three hours to kill before dinner reservations. Might I become your new bar bestie by recommending you stop in at Sovereign Remedies. The ambiance is real and legit, and the drinks are real and delicious. And also legit. Win-win. 

We had dinner reservations at The Junction and let me just take this moment to say yum.

Yum.

Yum!

Giant cornbread, pumpkin pie pork rind (what in the world?), gnocchi, and the most friendly staff ever. I take back my win-win from up there---The Junction was the total win-win of the weekend. I have no pictures of the food because we all stuffed our drinking-all-day faces, but I do have a picture of Leah, Bobby, and Adam looking so happy. 

See? The Junction makes you happy and laugh-y. <<new word. Write it down. 

There you have it. Fourteen hours of Asheville fun.

Oh, did I mention you should also order an entire bottle of champagne for dinner because it's the Codorniu Cava you tasted earlier?

No? Well I'm mentioning it now. Do that. 

Up next: the best city on Earth!

hint: rhymes with Marlespun.

friday favorites: the new blog design one

Let's all take a minute to oooh and aaah at Erin's work on my new blog design. 

Oooh!

Aaah!

Erin is the boooooomb!

^^all to be said in a dreamy voice.  

And really, Erin is the bomb. 

Favorite Jam

That's What's Up by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. 

Don't mind me. I'll just me singing the first two lines of this song for the next 72+ hours. Because they are the only lines of the song that I have memorized. 
Sidebar: I actually just watched this music video for the first time and it's kind of adorable. Makes me want to be a kid so I can trespass a playground and it not be creepy. 

Favorite Food

Freddie and I have been trying to decide what to eat when we are back in Charleston. We've narrowed down the list to about...fifty places. So that's good. #1 on the list? Truffle Mac n' Cheese from Coleman Public House. 

...and pizza from DeSano's, cocktails from Rarebit, and ice cream from Jeni's. Those are all on the #1 spot. Obviously. 

Favorite Houston Thing

Sunsets. 

H-town, you are killing it with the sunsets lately. Don't stop. Or maybe do stop until we get back, then start up again. 

Favorite Pilates Move

Bridging 
(hip lift)

I'm currently on a plane which means I'm sitting on my butt which means my hips and pelvis are wonky. This exercise is a great way to stretch the front of the hip (a position most of us do not get in our normal every day lives), and strengthen the back of the body. That's called a classic win-win, folks.
Pro-tip: don't do it like me in these pictures. Keep your chin lower and the back on your neck long in your starting position. 

Favorite Funny

I'm sure you've seen this on Facebook an average of ten times a day, but IT'S SO TRUE. 

New bedtime = 6:30pm.  

New wake-up time = 4:30am. 

Happy Friday!

Linking up with Karli and Amanda!

currently: the let's go on a trip edition

cooking //
I think I've mentioned my obsession with sweet potatoes one or twenty-five times before. I've also way overdone the joke about potentially turning orange because of my obsession, but really. I think I am going to turn orange. Here's my favorite way to cook them (recipe created by The Famous Freddiehusband Chef). Preheat over to 450. Cut sweet potatoes into small pieces. Put pieces in a gallon bag. Pour oil of choice, Italian seasoning, cumin, and garlic salt in bag. Just eyeball it and decide when the bag of spices and sweet pots smells amazing. Shake, shake, and shizzake that bag. Put on baking sheet and cook on one side for 20 minutes. Scrape and flip pieces. Cook for another 20 minutes. Eat all of them sweet potatoes and have no regrets.

tip: you can use anywhere from one sweet potato to ten. I suggest using as many as you think your tummy can possible handle.

planning //
Lots and lots and lots of Pilates classes. In my crazy mind I thought that once I was on a regular teaching schedule that I wouldn't be hitting the books as much. HA. Mark this down as the first and only time I was ever wrong. But yeah, I was super wrong. Our dining room and/or coffee table pretty much always look like that.

smelling // 
Blog truth: I just lit a candle so I could have an answer to this that didn't read along the line of: erm, nothing. So, blog world, I am smelling a delicious non-apple-y, cinnamon-y candle.

appreciating //
Mr. Lupe. Or Lups as he is formally called around here. I never ever ever ever ever ever (add another fifty evers) thought I would want a dog or be a dog person, but this dog makes me want to cuddle and snuggle and squeeze the crap outta him. The crap! Outta him! All day long! Hesjustsocuteallthedangtimehowisitevenlegal <<to be read without taking a breath and in a baby voice.

anticipating //
We leave bright and early Friday morning for a crazy, fun-filled week. Emphasis on the crazy and the fun parts. BIG EMPHASIS ON THE CRAZY AND FUN PARTS! We start in Asheville for a friend reunion and some fall weather (because green leaves are still a thing here in Houston. Eye roll), next Charleston so the hole in my heart since we moved can get worse heal, and then Atlanta for one of my best friends' weddings! ! ! ! More exclamation points needed to properly describe the excitement and anticipation I am feeling. Hashtag all the feelings.

Linking up with Anne and Jenna!

post halloween monday tummy pain funday

In true Freddie and Emily fashion, we invited people over for a Halloween party...about 20 hours before said party was to take place. If there's one thing I've learned since marrying Freddie, it's that Hey! Spontaneity always works and you should always make the most spontaneous decision ever!

^^I was joking. I have not learned to embrace spontaneity yet. I still want to cry when Freddie won't plan things, and Freddie wants to cry when I try to plan things. We compromised and decided that we'll both still do exactly as we have been doing always, and I'll plan and he won't and we'll both always want to cry. Compromise, people! Get on our marriage level!

In true Emily fashion, I created something that was appropriate for a child's party and not an adult's party. 

Anyways, I guess the point of this Post-Halloween Monday Tummy Hurt Funday is that...

sometimes spontaneity does work. Cool friends come over, eat your child-appropriate food, drink your dry ice cocktails, play Cards Against Humanity in the grossest slash only way to play Cards Against Humanity way, and make you realize that sometimes not planning ahead works out just fine.

But only sometimes...

And don't tell Freddie I admitted that sometimes it does work.

K thanks. 

Being an adult and not having an adult tell you when to stop eating candy kind of sucks. 

On that note, how was your Halloween?